With Nothing But Our Courage: The Loyalist Diary of Mary MacDonald

Mary MacDonald is a 12 - year - old girl living in the states at the end of the 1700's; with her parents, grandmother, 5 - year - old Brother, and her infant sister, Margret (only for a bit of the book) . Her family is forced to leave after several of their neighbours (and former friends) invade their home, smashing everything, and telling them to leave their 'home'. Mary and her family are devestated. They leave as soon as they can, carrying what they can in their small farm wagon. They plan to travel to Quebec`, Canada, where they will build a cabin for themselves and settle there. Before they go there, they stop at a small camp, with a small, dark home for them. Just before winter comes, Margret dies. Interesting parts in this book: - When they are building their homestead in Quebec`. sad parts in this book: - When Margret dies. There is not alot to say about this book, but it is absolutly fantastic, and i do recomend it, if you like books like this.

This book is one of the Dear Canada series, which are historical novels, written in diary format, about fictional girls during different periods of Canadian history. Mary MacDonald is a young girl who lives with her family in Albany, New York. But in 1783, after the American Revolution, the family is forced to leave their home just because they supported the British in the war. They decide to head for Quebec, in British Canada. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and the family faces many hardships along the way. Their troubles do not end when they reach their new home and must build a new life in the wilderness from almost nothing. Mary describes her life in her diary as she makes new friends, finds romance, and suffers through hardship and tragedy. This book is one of my favorites in the Dear Canada series. As an American, I also found it interesting to read about the other side in the Revolutionary War. Most of the Loyalists were just ordinary families who happened to support the side that lost, and as a result their lives were turned upside down. Mary was a sympathetic character who came alive in her diary, just an ordinary girl whose family happened to be on the "wrong side." I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical diary fiction.

For those of us down in the States who were raised on one view of the American Revolution, this is a great way to introduce "the rest of the story". As a homeschool Mom, I've been trying to help my children understand the many differnt viewpoints of the war, and this book was an eye opener for my 11 year old. She read it in one sitting and came away with a deeper appreciation of what all the colonists had gone through during those troubled times.Hooray for the Dear Canada series! We'll be reading the rest of them, as well!

This is my favorite book in the Dear Canada series. The diary is written by Mary MacDonald. She and her family are mistreated by the Patriots and are forced to move to Canada and start a new home. On the way, Mary describes the long, hard and lonely journey of traveling. Once they get to their destination, they build a new cabin and meet up with Mary's brother, who was fighting against the Patriots. Will Mary's family ever consider their new place as home? If you are a fan of historical fiction, I would definitely recommend this.