Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara

This is my first book for the American Revolution Reading Challenge that I am participating in this year, and it was a good one.  It is the first book of a two book series, and tells of the build up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  It begins with the first bloodshed in Boston in March, 1770, and continues through the summer of 1776.  While it is a historical novel, it is different from most historical novels I've read in the past.  This follows actual historical figures, such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and many others.  It has no fictional characters.  But it is written as a novel rather than a history textbook.  Obviously, dialogue and thoughts would have to be fiction, but the author used letters, memoirs, diaries, and accounts written by people who were there to tell the story.  It was a very readable way to get a history lesson, and I will be reading the second book in the series (The Glorious Cause) this year as well.  Since my husband and I are planning a trip to New England in the fall (including Boston), I found this book even more interesting, and it gave me a couple of ideas of sites I don't want to miss.  I rate it 4 out of 5.