SuitabookFelicity saves the day
Valerie Tripp, The American Girls Collection
- Reading
- Read alongside a conversation about helping friends responsibly: Felicity respects Ben’s wishes but considers his best interests. Pause afterwards to distinguish her personal viewpoint from the broader historical explanation of slavery.
- Themes
- Friendship and responsibility: Felicity finds Ben injured and hiding after trying to join the Patriot army; he asks her not to report him, recalling that he once kept her secret. The situation presents care, respect for a friend’s wishes and judgement about what may protect that friend’s interests.
- Slavery and historical perspective: The main story depicts plantation routines through Felicity’s eyes; the Looking Back section explains slavery’s central role in plantation life. The book provides historical explanation, but its main narrative perspective leaves enslaved people in the background rather than centring their lives.
- Political division and loyalty: Felicity’s grandfather and visiting neighbours are Loyalists, while her father and Ben are Patriots; conversation about the conflict becomes awkward. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Slavery and the Revolutionary-era conflict receive meaningful attention.