Rebellious Heart By: Jody Hedlund

Jody Hedlund does an excellent job of loosely recreating the account of John and Abigail Adams’ courtship years in Rebellious Heart. Susanna Smith is a woman of status and higher learning is off limits to her, even though she has an intelligent mind and wants to learn so much more. Benjamin Ross is a poor country lawyer who aspires to marry above his station, but will he be satisfied with that? Or will Susanna steal his heart when he realizes she has grown up? Can Susanna accept Ben for who he really is, even if her mother thinks he isn’t good enough for her? Susanna and her mother help the less fortunate. One day Susanna rescues an indentured servant. She can be punished severely for helping her, but Dotty is being abused. Can Susanna just turn her back? Or will she go against everything she’s been taught and help the young woman in trouble? Ben is drawn into Susanna’s plight to help Dotty. Can he keep them both safe? Or will he lose everything he’s fought to gain to keep them out of the enemy’s clutches? Once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it back down. Jody Hedlund does an excellent job of weaving a romantic tale set in Colonial times and incorporating events and situations common to that era like smuggling, indentured servants, and slaves. Long after you finish this story, you will still be thinking about the characters!