Betrayal at Cross Creek

I read this book every year to my students when we study the Revolution. I teach just outside of Cross Creek, now Fayetteville, and this story gives a great history lesson to my students. It puts a human context to the choices people had to make at this most-important time in our nation's history. The characters must decide whether to be Loyalists or Patriots. What do you do when family members or friends choose the opposite? A great read. My students beg every day for more.

This is the best History Mystery book in the whole series!!! I read this and ever since I have loved researching Scottish history, especially on the battle of Culloden. If you like suspenseful page-turners', this is IT!!

This is another in the History Mystery series from American Girl, in which a young American girl is confronted by a mystery that will tax her resolve and her ability. This is the story of Elspeth Monro, whose family fled from the wars and troubles of Scotland, only to find themselves caught up in the American Revolution. Someone is trying to force her grandfather to declare himself for the Patriots, someone who knows all about the family's comings and goings, but who? Also, Elspeth's grandmother has a great grudge against a newcomer to the community, is this man her family's enemy? There's more going on here than meets the eye, and Elspeth will need all of her courage and determination to see this thing through. The final chapter is a bit of a bonus, a look at the experiences of the Scottish immigrants during the American Revolution. My thirteen-year-old daughter has been a fan of the American Girls books for years, and I was quite glad when this one fell into our hands. The story is quite gripping, and keeps you at the edge of your seat. Also, the mystery is handled expertly, and the ending is quite a surprise. My one and only complaint is that this book does not contain the nice illustrations that we had come to expect with the American Girls stories. It would have been nice to see what the people in the story looked like. But, that said, the story is excellent, and will keep you reading, unable to put the book down. My daughter and I both highly recommend this book to you!

Intriguing historical information and an exciting mystery all rolled together into a fabulous book -- the name of the series says it all -- History Mysteries. This latest installment in one of my favorite series is no different. Betrayal at Cross Creek is the story of Elspeth Monro's, a Scottish immigrant to North Carolina at the start of the American Revolution, search for the person threatening her family. The thrilling adventure will keep readers fascinated until the surprising conclusion. The story starts when Elspeth, her Grandda, and her American friend Mercy are frightened by Patriots trying to convince Grandda to join the Patriots. Elspeth and her family are threatened repeatedly after this. Grandda is undecided about which side to join, and Grannie, remembering the horrors of The '45, a war Scotland lost against England many years ago, is against the war altogether, and doubts the wisdom of fighting the powerful British army a second time. Elspeth begins to only feel at ease when she is at her weaving apprenticeship to Mercy's mother, Mistress Blair. But when she suspects Mr. Blair of betraying her family to the Patriots, along with Tall Tam MacRacken, who she's heard mysterious tales about, she thinks nothing could be worse. However, the situation does get worse -- much worse. Elspeth's cousins, Duncan and Robbie, run away to join the Loyalist army and Grandda enlists too to protect them. Now Elspeth has to protect her grandmother and aunt. Can she keep her family strong and solve the mystery of their betrayal to the Patriots, too? This book was a wonderful way to learn about a less-covered side of the American Revolution -- the role of the new immigrants who weren't on either side. I learned a lot, and enjoyed a great story at the same time. The plot was unpredictable and exciting.