An exciting novel for tweens that captures the dawn of the American Revolution. Life is tough for thirteen-year-old Nathaniel Dunn, an indentured servant in colonial Virginia. Then in a twist of luck, he meets Basil, a kind schoolmaster, and an arrangement is struck lending Nathaniel's labor to a Williamsburg carriage maker. Basil introduces Nathaniel to music, books, and philosophies that open his mind to new attitudes about equality. The year is 1775, and as colonists voice their rage over England's taxation, Patrick Henry's words give me liberty, or give me death become the sounding call for action. Should Nathaniel and Basil join the fight? What is the meaning of liberty in a country reliant on indentured servants and slaves? Nathaniel must face the puzzling choices a dawning nation lays before him. "Filled with action, well-drawn characters, and a sympathetic understanding of many points of view." --ALA Booklist

The stunning sequel to Under A War-Torn Sky

World War II may be ending, but the conflict still rages for nineteen-year-old bomber pilot Henry Forester. After returning home to Virginia he is still reliving his struggles, and can't stop worrying about the safety of those who helped him escape--most of all, one French boy, Pierre, who may have lost everything because of Henry. When he returns to France to find Pierre, Henry is staggered by the consequences of war. Amid starvation, cities devastated by Allied bombing, and the shocking return of concentration camp survivors, Henry must embark on a brave search for a lost boy and a fight to find his own peace.

When Henry Forester is shot down during a bombing run over France, the World War II pilot finds himself trapped behind enemy lines. In constant danger of discovery by German soldiers, Henry begins a remarkable journey to freedom. Relying on the kindness of strangers, Henry moves from town to town -- traveling by moonlight, never asking questions, or even the names of the people who help him along the way. Throughout his journey, Henry gains an understanding of the French and their struggle; and of his own place in a war that will change the face of Europe forever.

L. M. Elliott has often written about teenagers and the challenges of growing up while a senior writer for the Washingtonian magazine. Inspired by her father’s experiences of World War II and of the courage and self-sacrifice of the French Resistance, she wrote Under a War-Torn Sky, her first novel. Ms. Elliott lives with her family in Virginia.

This powerful Cold War novel tells the story of two cousins, one German and the other an American Army brat, as they navigate the political and social turmoil that threatens their friendship and ends in the abrupt rise of the Berlin Wall-which may separate them forever. Drew is an army brat in West Berlin, where soldiers like his dad hold an outpost of democracy against communist Russia. Drew's cousin Matthias, an East Berliner, has grown up in the wreckage of Allied war bombing, on streets ruled by the secret police. From enemy sides of this Cold War standoff, the boys become wary friends, arguing over the space race, politics, even civil rights, but bonding over music. If informants catch Matthias with rock 'n' roll records or books Drew has given him, he could be sent to a work camp. If Drew gets too close to an East Berliner, others on the army post may question his family's loyalty. As the political conflict around them grows dire, Drew and Matthias are tested in ways that will change their lives forever. Set in the tumultuous year leading up to the surprise overnight raising of the Berlin Wall in August 1961, and illustrated with dozens of real-life photographs of the time, Walls brings to vivid life a heroic and tragic episode of the Cold War.

Bank Street College Best Book of the Year (Historical Fiction, 2019)

Drawing from historical journals and letters, New York Times bestselling author Laura Elliot weaves a richly detailed tale about the extraordinary Peggy Schuyler and her revolutionary friendship with Alexander Hamilton. Perfect for fans of the smash Broadway musical sensation Hamilton.

Peggy Schuyler has always felt like she’s existed in the shadows of her beloved sisters: the fiery, intelligent Angelica and beautiful, sweet Eliza. But it’s in the throes of a chaotic war that Peggy finds herself a central figure amid Loyalists and Patriots, spies and traitors, friends and family.

When a flirtatious aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, writes to Peggy asking for her help in wooing the earnest Eliza, Peggy finds herself unable to deny such an impassioned plea. A fast friendship forms between the two, but Alexander is caught in the same war as her father, and the danger to all their lives is real.

Everything is a battlefield—from the frontlines to their carefully coded letters—but will Peggy’s bravery’s and intelligence be enough to keep them all safe?

*2018 Grateful American Book Prize Honorable Mention*