In 1775, fifteen year old Fanny Montresor, living with her stepmother Margaret in Westminster, New York, a town hostile to loyalists, is horrified to discover that her parents plan to marry her off to a stranger if war breaks out-and the local Whigs are planning a protest that could shatter the fragile peace. Fanny wrestles with her loyalty to the woman who saved her from certain death, and to her stepfather, the hated Tory Crean Brush, who whatever his faults has been a tender father to his adopted daughter. Fanny's attempt to head off violence is thwarted by Mother's rousing speech to the sheriff. The posse attacks the unarmed protesters, wounding several. The street soon seethes with furious militiamen eager for revenge. Against this terrifying backdrop, Fanny negotiates for what freedom she can find amid the crushing imperatives of family and political necessity. Eight years later, widowed and masking her pain with a lively wit, Fanny returns with Margaret to Westminster, only to find that they share a lawyer with the Vermont revolutionary hero Ethan Allen, who hates Tories. But Fanny knows Allen well through his writings, which gives her an advantage when they finally meet. Their attraction seems mutual despite the political mismatch, but with one disastrous marriage behind her, Fanny is wary, and Allen seems to have reservations of his own. Hewing closely to historical facts and peopled with historical Vermont figures, this novel gives an up-close view of the Westminster Massacre, long known by Vermonters as the first bloodshed of the American Revolution. Approx. 300 pages From Strong Words That Matter, by Beth Kanell Vermont author Jessie Haas, an expert in the history of the Vermont towns of Westminster and Westminster West, provides an exciting, enjoyable, and yes, romantic way to step into the flow of revolution in her newly self-published novel DEAREST BLOOD. (I bet some traditional publishers are hating that they missed out on this!) Cleverly, she positions her 250-page tale on the very edge of the young adult/adult reading line: Fifteen-year-old Fanny Montresor is the daughter -- well, that's complicated, because neither of her parents in Westminster is her birth parent -- but let's keep this simple for now and say that, as the townspeople see her, she is the daughter of a British-loyal civil servant whose wealth is mostly in land, and a lovely and skilled mother who's even more loyal to The Crown. In a town and state on the verge of armed rebellion, that's not a helpful heritage. And it's a shock to Fanny when her mother prescribes marriage to a man of means, locally, as a way to keep Fanny safe in the likely dangerous times ahead. But there's little time for Fanny to seek other options: "War was normal in America, and left its long trail of debris and grief." Whether battling Abenaquis or the French or pestilence, Fanny's seen enough to believe her mother's insistence that an arranged marriage is suddenly a must. Armed conflict breaks out far sooner than either expects, and surrounds Fanny's home; she witnesses the death of a young man her own age, and there's ample reason to fear she and her mother could be attacked soon. Her discoveries quickly shatter her worldview, even bringing her toward the rebel cause in her own reasoning. Haas is a seasoned author, noted for both her often horse-focused children's and adult fiction, and her dedicated historical research that bore fruit in her 2011 book Revolutionary Westminster . Scene by exciting scene, she draws Fanny into deeper understanding of what freedom and liberty might mean, personal and national. Sharp-eyed readers will spot the potential romance that will become a force in the second half of the novel, which jumps to the year 1783, when the Treaty of Paris affirmed America's liberation and (more or less) safety. But it is also a time of grief for Fanny, who's endured multiple large losses in the meantime. Returning to Westminster with her mother, she visits the grave of the man she saw killed, and here is the source of the book's title -- on his marker stone, "For Liberty and his Countrys Good / he Lost his Life his Dearest blood." Fanny reflects, "His dearest blood. In my mind's eye I saw that dark smudge on [friend] Isaac's handkerchief. The lump in my throat grew." How Fanny will resolve her compromises and take agency in her own life becomes a delightful background to a much happier situation than an arranged marriage "for safety." The sweetness and cleverness of the remaining plot -- based on real people and events -- make this novel of the American Revolution into a swift and uplifting read. And that, in short, is why historians like Haas sometimes bring their deep knowledge around the corner to a fictional approach. Lucky readers: Those who love American history, Vermont history, historical fiction, and a true-life romance can all savor this book. Do you know a dreamer who's paying attention to friendship and maybe the scary ed