Siege by Roxanne Orgill - NO

Orgill, Roxanne  Siege:How General Washington Kicked the British Out of Boston and Launched a Revolution, 221 pages.  Candlewick Press, 2018.  $18.  Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13. 

George Washington is elected to lead the troops against the British, but it is not always easy because the supplies are low and they don’t have much financial backing.  When the British gain control of Boston, the rebel American troops concentrate their efforts on removing them slowly.  With disease and shortage of supplies many suffer as the battle is waged, but eventually Washington beats out the British. 

This book is written in free verse, which is where everything went wrong.  There is not a storyline to follow and unless the reader has a pretty extensive knowledge of the Revolutionary War I’m not sure they would understand most of what is being presented.  The verses read like incomplete sentences and even the fictional character who occasionally cropped up throughout didn’t bring any personal interest to the history.  The violence includes torture, capital punishment for soldiers who abandon their post and one reference to a man’s head being blown off.  Great cover though.

MS – NOT RECOMMENDED.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.