A Different Kind of Courage by Sarah Holman

One character whose name I didn't know had me looking things up as the story was wrapping up.then realizing it was all explained in the historical note at the end. For as little as she was seen, Abigail Adams absolutely popped off the page as well. Joseph Warren and his centrality to the story (although I have to admit my only knowledge of him prior to this comes from Johnny Tremain-the movie, not the book :P). I loved the ways the different historical characters were woven into the story, especially the way they were given individual personalities and roles and made to feel like real people instead of cardboard cutouts stuck in for brief cameos. (P.S., if you know me, my description/detail tolerance tends to be on the low end anyway, so that's a serious compliment. And it was done without info dumps or painful amounts of detail. Everything about the story-dress, setting, characters, opinions, quotes-anchored me in the time and place as firmly as any historical story I've ever read. To be clear, this book is so much more than 'just another Revolution story.' It's not platitudes and easy answers and quick changes of opinion, and it's also not modern characters running around in historical garb across a backdrop that happens to be the Revolution. Ohhkay, wow! I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to this book or why I more than half expected just 'another Revolution story.' Guess it serves me right for putting it off! But this was just a short bit in the book. While it is so important to be the person God created you to be, I feel that there are times when you shouldn't reveal more information that necessary, especially if you are still undecided about where you stand, or if so doing could put you and others in danger. There was only a little bit that I didn't agree with in this book.

Sarah Holman did a great job of taking her readers into Boston and the turmoil that abounded then. It brought into sharper focus the things our founding fathers went though to give us the freedom and liberty we have now. Another plus for me was reading it just before the 4th of July. Although the main character was fictional and he interacted with real people from history, he didn't 'change history' as so many 'historical fiction' books do.

Joseph Warren, I was delighted to find him such an important figure in this story. I found myself deeply interested in the characters, and loving the differing view points of the Wigs and the Tories. I'm glad I finally uncovered it and read it. At first I just wasn't in the mood for a story set in the American Revolution, and then it got buried. I've had this book sitting on my kindle for a long time.

A Different Kind of Courage by Sarah Holman