Virginia Bound

by Amy Butler Greenfield

Rob Brackett is in dire straits. He's always known that the first rule of survival is to not stick your neck out for anyone but yourself. But he disregarded his own advice and took another orphan, a young girl called Nell, under his wing. As a result of Nell's trusting nature, the two of them were kidnapped off the streets of London and shipped to Virginia. If only Rob had followed his instincts and left Nell on her own! Now he is in the new Jamestown colony, forced to work as an indentured servant to a cruel tobacco farmer, and there seems to be no escaping his predicament. His only companion is an Indian girl named Mattoume, but everyone knows Indians are not to be trusted. He certainly can't depend on her for a way out . . . or can he?

In this well-told, extensively researched, and vividly portrayed novel, Rob must find a way to persevere in the cruel New World, even if it means accepting-and returning-the help of others.

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction

188 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 2003

About the author

Amy Butler Greenfield writes award-winning books about history, science, art, and spies. Her work has been published in ten languages.

Her history of the red dye cochineal, A Perfect Red, won the PEN/Albrand Award for First Nonfiction and France’s Prix du Livre Environnement. Her acclaimed biography of Elizabeth Smith Friedman, The Woman All Spies Fear, was optioned for film. Her first mystery for children, Ra the Mighty, was an Edgar Award finalist. Her next book, Code Name Purple, is about an underdog team of codebreakers who cracked a top WWII cipher machine and eavesdropped on Hitler.

An enthusiastic and experienced presenter, Amy has appeared on the History Channel, PBS’s American Experience, and other television and radio programs. She has given popular talks across the country, and she has been a featured speaker at the International Spy Museum, London’s National Gallery, the Oxford Symposium, the Los Angeles Public Library, the National Cryptologic Foundation, and UK intelligence agency GCHQ.

Born in Philadelphia, Amy grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and studied history at Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. She now lives with her family in England, not far from Bletchley Park, where part of the Purple story took place.

Reviews

[Clairette]

A good late-elementary / middle school book with drama, heart, and history too! I enjoyed this quick read and the narrative of some possible lives in early-17th century Jamestown.

That said, I'm not sure the opening scenes will hook my 12 year old boy, and it's likely too scary/intense for my soft-hearted 10 year old boy. This would probably be a better read-aloud for them than a book they might dig into on their own.

[Alison Jenks]

Read aloud with the kids for history. It was a good look of early settlers in Virginia trying to make a new life growing tobacco. It also follows a couple of orphans from England who were tricked and sent over as indentured servants. It was a quick read, the kids didn’t like when I had to interrupt the story.

[Kathy Dobronyi]

Easy read and interesting story.

[Barb Carney]

Great book about coming to Virginia as a child indentured servant in 1627. Picture on cover fits the story perfectly.

[Amanda]

This is the third required reading for Joseph’s fourth grade class. I enjoyed it!

[Miss Amanda]

gr 5-8 182 pgs


1627 London, England / Virginia. 13 year old orphan Rob is tricked into becoming an indentured servant. He had warned Nell, the younger orphan he'd been helping, not to trust anyone, but she just wouldn't listen. And now they are both bound for Virignia as indentured servants until they are twenty-one. Rob and Nell are chosen by different masters. Rob's masters are cruel to him and their other servant Mattoume, a Pamunkey Indian. When Mattoume tells Rob of her plans to escape, she invites him to come with her. Rob must choose should he go with her or escape on his own and try to find Nell?

Good story.

[Kirsten]

Excellent YA book, especially for understanding the experiences of some children in the very earliest days of America. The book tells the story of a homeless boy who is kidnapped from London, put on a ship and sent to the Virginia colonies as an indentured servant. This is a good book particularly for teachers of Virginia history, as it is historically accurate while telling the story of a fictional character that is the same age as late elementary/early middle-school kids in an engaging way. Pair it with a trip to Williamsburg and Jamestown for an all-around history unit.

[Christine]

I did not realize this was Junior fiction when I ordered it, but it was an enjoyable story none the less. A young orphaned boy and girl from London are taken hostage and sold in America as indentured servants. This is a good story for young boys and girls to read and understand how good they have it now!

[Leslie]

I read this book with Sierra for school. It's about a boy who comes to Jamestown from England as an endentured servant. It gives a good overview of life in Jamestown when it was first settled and the hardships they endured. Great book for kids!

[Gretchen]

good novel about Colonial VA and indentured servants-its moves along very well and isn't one-sided

[Sierra]

I had to read this for my novel group at school.

[Rebecca Radnor]

Not available on kindle

[Elaine Sumpter]

It is a sad story. But it is a very nice read.