Smallpox Strikes!

This is the seventh book in The American Adventure series. This series tells about the lives of children from many generations of a fictional family throughout American history, from the settling of Plymouth by the Pilgrims through the end of World War II. It's the spring of 1721 in Boston, and eleven-year-old Rob Allerton has problems. He would like to study to be an apothecary with his good friend, Dr. Boylston. However, his wealthy stepfather, Josiah Foy, has forced Rob to become an apprentice at his shipping business. In addition, Rob is constantly fighting with his stepbrother, Thomas, who resents Rob and is constantly teasing their little sister, Rachel. But soon these problems begin to seem trivial, when a deadly outbreak of smallpox hits Boston. Dr. Bolyston wants to give people an experimental inoculation he believes protects against the disease, but Rob's stepfather forbids anyone in the family to get one. Can Rob persuade his stepfather to change his mind before it's too late? This was another good book from the American Adventure series. Rob was a sympathetic character, the story was interesting, and I enjoyed the colonial setting. Readers who enjoyed the other books in the American Adventure series will definitely want to read this one as well. I also recommend it to readers who are new to the series and are interested in this time period in history.