Customer Reviews

Will's Story: 1771 (Colonial Williamsburg(R))

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I Purchased the six books in this series for my granddaughter. We had seen these books in Williamsburg while on vacation there, and were impressed at the time. Now that she is old enough or at least close to being old enough we thought she would enjoy them. I read al six and thought they were well done and would be fun for her to read as well as being instructive as to how people lived in the 18th century.
Each of the books deals with a child and their family, how they dealt with some of the problems, politics and their general living conditions. The individuals all had different backgrounds from being a slave to a working class family, to a wealthy politiical involved family, and somewhere in between. Therefore by reading all of the books in the series you can get a feel for the entire community.
They are definitely written for children but as I said I think they will be interesting for most children.

Simply put, this is Nixon at her best. And when at her best, she stands among the greats in modern literature. Joan Lowery Nixon's pen is mightier and more lethal than anyone else's pen. She is a master, and Will's Story is her masterpiece.

The story here is Will's, the jailer's son. (Interestingly jail was spelled gaol in colonial America.) Nixon leads us along as Will grows into a mature and capable young man in colonial Williamsburg, VA. His story is every bit as engaging as Huckleberry Finn, but without the problematic ending. While Twain's text may have been more seminal, Nixon's novel is more involved. Painstaking research and perfectly executed prose form Will's Story. It is, without a doubt, the best in Nixon's Young Americans series. It is, without a doubt, the best in Nixon's entire ouvre. It is, without a doubt, the best novel about colonial America in existance. It is...fantastic.

"Will's Story 1771" was not the best addition to the Young Americans series. With the previous books, there were adventure, turmoil, and bigger conflicts. Will's problems seemed small, and he wasn't a strong character. I still give credit for making his life come alive again through this series. I "sorta" recommend.

In Young Americans: Colonial Williamsburg, twelve-year-old Will's father works for the city of Willliamsburg and Will still feels uncomfortable with the prisoners they are housing beneath his family's living quarters. His friendship with a runaway slave leads to a dangerous involvement in this moving story of responsibility in early American life.