April 11, 2016

On My Bookshelf: Our Own Country by Jodi Daynard

In Our Own Country by Jodi Daynard, Eliza is happy with the life she leads as a wealthy merchant's daughter in Boston. But that life is turned upside down as the Revolutionary War begins and she experiences the injustices of slavery. The result is a dramatic transformation for Eliza. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.
Basic plot from Amazon: A love affair tests a new nation’s revolutionary ideals.

In 1770s Boston, a prosperous merchant’s daughter, Eliza Boylston, lives a charmed life—until war breaches the walls of the family estate and forces her to live in a world in which wealth can no longer protect her.

As the chaos of the Revolutionary War tears her family apart, Eliza finds herself drawn to her uncle’s slave, John Watkins. Their love leads to her exile in Braintree, Massachusetts, home to radicals John and Abigail Adams and Eliza’s midwife sister-in-law, Lizzie Boylston. But even as the uprising takes hold, Eliza can’t help but wonder whether a rebel victory will grant her and John the most basic of American rights.

Why I liked it: Our Own Country is centered around the events leading up to and during the Revolutionary War and is set in Massachusetts in the towns of Cambridge, Portsmouth, and Braintree. Besides focusing on the country’s fight for independence, the novel also tackles the issues of slavery and women’s role in society. The lives of famous historical figures, such as John and Abigail Adams, are interwoven with the fictional characters.
In Our Own Country by Jodi Daynard, Eliza is happy with the life she leads as a wealthy merchant's daughter in Boston. But that life is turned upside down as the Revolutionary War begins and she experiences the injustices of slavery. The result is a dramatic transformation for Eliza. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.

Classroom application: The novel is part of a series, one or all of which could be used as companions to a unit on early American history and the Revolutionary War. The novels could also be used in literature circles focused on novels dealing with women's rights and roles in society.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Our Own Country for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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