This book tells the stories of women who contributed to the American Revolution in variety of ways. It focuses on the women of the Revolution, their struggles and sacrifices, and the significant (often overlooked) roles they played throughout the War. The women’s stories are engaging, but there is a lot happening on each page, making it hard to focus on what it most important. The book includes text, timelines and graphic novel style writing all on one page. ( )

Most histories of the American Revolution focus on the soldiers and politicians. This book tells the stories of women who contributed to the American Revolution in myriad ways, from cooking, sewing, and nursing, to spying, acting as couriers, and fighting on the battlefield. The women’s stories are engaging. However, the book tries to pack too much content into a limited space. The book design is not conducive to the ebook format that I read. It was hard to enlarge the book enough to read the text even on a computer screen, let alone on a phone app, and I completely gave up on the timeline across the bottom edge of the page. The font crowds the letters together enough that I think the print edition would even pose a challenge for many readers. ( )

"Hello? How about the women?"(p.6).

This young reader book is profound in its message toward youth as well as adults. From the outset, the book drives the point that women are not mentioned in the history of the making of the United States, not because they did not act, but because they simply were not written about. Black, Native American, and White, women rode farther than Paul Revere; were the impetus for the strength of the boycott against English tea and merchandise (not afraid to tar and feather traitors to the cause); wrote pamphlets, newspapers, and inspirational lyrics; and followed men to the front lines and dressed in men's clothing to take up arms fighting bravely, suffering injury, freeing prisoners of war, nursing the wounded, burying the dead, and carrying secrets. And, their service was once acknowledged! George Washington recognized African slave Phillis Wheatley for her famous poems of the Revolution, and called the women who cooked and cleaned for soldiers "Women of the Army." Women earned military pay and military pensions, and were renowned for fighting off enemy troops. Yet, only the great men of the Revolution earned their names in print. Anderson knows the way to rectify this is to start digging through our own family histories for the truth. The dedication of the book leads the charge. It reads, "Dedicated to my Revolutionary grandmothers," listing the author's own 22 mothers of the Revolution. ( )

A clear example of a "handheld hypertext" book - there are many paths to reading the book and learning about the American Revolution. I found the timeline at the bottom of the pages and the appendix of sorts at the back to be most useful and informative while the main story line seemed overly simplistic. I appreciate all research about women that went into the creation of this book. ( )

excellent use of text features, embraces diversity
http://books.simonandschuster.net/Independent-Dames/Laurie-Halse-Anderson/978068...
(reading group guide with discussion questions and activities)