Revolutionary

August 19, 2013
This deftly written debut historical novel from male transgender author Alex Myers follows a strong-willed young woman who takes a huge gamble and fights as a male soldier for the American colonists. Deborah Sampson is a 22-year-old indentured weaver who confides in her closest friend, Jennie Newcomb, about her desperate need to escape their oppressive small Massachusetts town. After surviving a sexual assault, Deborah dresses as a young man, skips town, and reinvents herself as “Robert D. S. Shurtliff.” She meets a recruiter and manages to pass herself off as a boy old enough to enlist in the Continental Army. Writing as Robert, she begins a correspondence with Jennie before Deborah marches with her regiment to their new military base at West Point. She befriends James Snow, an apprentice blacksmith and fellow private. Keeping up her male disguise proves tricky, but her army peers accept her as a full member of the light infantry. She likes the freedom and respect accorded a male enough to convince herself she wants to maintain her masquerade. Problems arise when Corporal Shaw threatens to expose her true gender before she makes a good showing during a British ambush. After suffering a tremendous personal loss, Deborah undergoes a change of heart about her role as a man (Robert), and as a woman (Deborah), in Myers’s original and affecting novel.

October 15, 2013
Myers' debut, a novel based upon the true life of a woman who disguised herself as a man and fought in the Revolutionary War, illuminates questions about gender equality and identity. In 1782, former indentured servant Deborah Sampson yearns to experience the freedoms that fall only to men, so she dons male attire and enlists in the Continental Army. After her original attempt to become a soldier is foiled, she tries once again, this time stealing away to a different town and adopting her deceased brother's name, Robert Shurtliff, as her own. Worried about revealing his secret, Robert works harder than most to master military drills, and he's proud when he and three other recruits are chosen for West Point's light infantry. He shares a tent with Tobias, a fellow book lover who excels with a needle and thread, young runaway Matthew and good-natured James, who teaches Robert how to spit. As the recruits learn to care for their muskets, shoot at targets and march in formation, Robert revels in his treatment as an equal and begins to react intuitively to situations as a man. (The author cleverly illustrates the transition through the interchange of feminine and masculine pronouns.) He sporadically writes to his childhood friend Jennie, who keeps him informed about events back home. Robert's military service is marked by hardships: long treks, constant fear of discovery, others' traitorous acts, brutal clashes on the battlefield and heart-rending loss; but he also experiences contentment: unconditional love from another, the regiment's spirit of camaraderie, acceptance by men as a person of value (which he believes was lacking when he went about life as a woman) and bravery on the battlefield. Myers' excellent research and skilled writing combine to create an absorbing story with an interesting protagonist and topics worth contemplating. The author presents a time in early American history when the social and legal ramifications of being born a woman or being transgender meant suffering in anonymity. Has anything changed? A fine debut.

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October 15, 2013

As a former indentured servant in Colonial Massachusetts, Deborah Sampson (1760-1827) leads a constricted life. Frequently chided for her desire for independence, she reaches a breaking point and runs away. Tall and strong, she dresses as a man to escape and soon finds untold freedom, respect, and comfort when she joins the Continental Army as Robert Shurtliff. But there are risks as well. Besides the dangers of battle and the fear of being discovered, there is the effect on Deborah/Robert's sense of self: while increasingly comfortable at being Robert, the deceit of having to hide her true and complex nature takes its toll. The author is transgender and writes well about identity and gender, but sticklers for a historical voice may be disappointed. While based on true events and a real person, Myers's debut novel is more interested in Deborah/Robert's internal journey than in immersing readers in period detail. VERDICT Despite some flaws, this work offers a new take on historical accounts of transgender people; Myers explores not just how Deborah manages to pass as a man but her reasons for doing so.--Devon Thomas, Chelsea, MI

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2013
You must be able to imagine how good it feels to be assumed capable and intelligent and not always to have to prove this matter, writes Deborah Samson to her friend, Jennie, during her remarkable Revolutionary War service, which she accomplishes while disguised as a man named Robert Shurtliff. In his debut, transgender author Myers relates the story of a courageous, real-life woman. His straightforward, clear prose lets the important and complex issues he raises shine through, including gender identification, the desire for self-expression, and the meaning of freedom in an era when women's choices and actions were severely constrained. The novel follows Deborah, a tall, sturdily built 21-year-old who escapes repressive Middleborough, Massachusetts, in 1782 by enlisting in the Continental Army. Crisply rendered scenes shift from days of camaraderie and routine camp life around West Point to deadly skirmishes, the unmasking of traitors, and the discovery of unexpected love. With this thought-provoking work, Myers resists modernizing Deborah/Robert's predicament and lets readers explore both the external and internal transformations of this valiant American soldier.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)