I received a free advance reading copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

Siege is a book that tells the story of the Siege of Boston in 1775-1776 from multiple perspectives and entirely in verse. It's a spectacular way of presenting how the Continental Army was able to fortify the hills surrounding Boston and force the British Army to evacuate the city. And while there's poetic license, almost all of this book is based on historical fact. The characters include familiar names like George and Martha Washington, Colonel Henry Knox, Sir William Howe, and Abigail Adams, but also Washington's aide-de-camp Joseph Reed, Washington's enslaved manservant William Lee, and rank-and-file Continental Army privates Caleb Haskell and Samuel Haws. Orgill also versifies Washington's daily orders and the news from Boston. This is a wonderful approach to presenting a moment in history and highly recommend it.

Favorite Passages:

"Funerals - three, four, five a day
General Gage has ceased
The pealing of church bells
They cast too melancholy a mood
They do not bring back the dead" - p. 31

"I believe it
from the jetsam
washed ashore
spindles
headboards
tables without legs
splintered drawers
carved backs of Chippendale chairs

they're leaving the town intact
but nothing to sit upon." - p. 171

Recommended books: ( )

SIEGE: HOW GENERAL WASHINGTON KICKED THE BRITISH OUT OF BOSTON AND LAUNCHED A REVOLUTION by Roxanne Orgill.
I read an ‘Advance Reading Copy’ from Candlewick Press; part of an Early Review Program sponsored by Library Thing.
As a retired school librarian, I am very familiar with the excellent offerings of Candlewick Press. The publisher is top-notch.

In 1775, the British Army occupied Boston in order to subdue and discourage the colonists.
Roxanne Orgill tells the ‘story’ of the siege in free verse/poetic verse.
Access Points include:
a Cast of Characters including George Washington (Commander of the Continental Army); William Lee (Washington’s servant); Henry Knox (a Boston bookseller who became a colonel under Washington).
Introduction - I liked the simplicity and matter-of-factness of the Introduction.
Summer 1775
Fall 1775
Winter 1775-1776
Spring 1776
Glossary - excellent, interesting and helpful
Source Notes - excellent, interesting and helpful
Bibliography - excellent resources
Acknowledgements
Map - of Boston and its environs

I liked the repetition of ‘Orders’ (Orders is an actual character)
I liked the instructions for loading a ‘Brown Bess’ or musket written by Cyrus (a servant boy).
I liked the references to George Washington as a surveyor. I liked the reference to Henry Knox who was later rewarded for service with thousands of acres of land in Maine - one of the ‘Great Proprietors’. I also liked the list of victuals procured by Cyrus.
I liked that there was little punctuation.
The rhythm and cadence of the words was mesmerizing. The rhythm speaks to the hard work, the drudgery of the tasks to be performed everyday.
This title would be an excellent ‘stand-alone’ book for students to read. It could also be used as supplemental reading on this topic or as ‘theater’ or a broadcast.
I would recommend this title for grades 6 and above. The content is excellent and gives a very personalized account of daily life/military life and history in the Revolutionary War period. ( )

"Siege" was the story of the siege of Boston by the British during the War of Independence. When I saw that it was written in verse, I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to get through the book. As I read I saw how devilishly clever this way of writing was. By using verse, the writer was able to move from one place to another, one event to another and from speaker to speaker with a minimum of fuss and verbiage. It gave a clear picture of the events of the siege and the feelings of those involved in a quick and lively manner.

A very fun play on the history of the American Revolution. A series of poems told from a number of parties involved in the Siege of Boston, the book gives access to a first voice history which might be more accessible than traditional history texts. Source materials vary from excerpts and adaptation of primary sources to fictional filler but all come together to serve a strong narrative with linear, logical progression. The poems offer insight and person aspects that would be an excellent compliment to more traditional teachings on the subject. Without factual grounding, the book could flounder. The simplicity of the poems is both a strength and the biggest weakness of the book. While making the material accessible to a wider audience it also creates a lack of deeper reader identification as while the subject matter is nicely organized, the poems doesn't flow individually or as a whole. A very interesting interpretation and recommended as a supplementary reading or classroom instruction material. ( )

This series of short poems pieces together a lesser known part of the Revolution. Told from multiple perspectives, both known and unknown (as well as fictional), the poems will definitely give students a good impression of the atmosphere of the time. My knock is on the style of the poems themselves. They are free verse, but they lack a steady rhythm and an emotional punch I'd hoped for. Still, I'd definitely recommend this to middle-grade students, especially though with an interest in the American Revolution. ( )