This book, the winner of the 2006 National Book Award in Young People's Literature and a 2007 Printz Honor Book, is a compelling work of historical fiction, presenting a side of American patriotism, slavery, and science during the period of the Revolutionary War that's very unlike the rah rah "taxation without representation" most students learn in history class. The narrator, Octavian is a negro boy who’s raised in the household of a Boston scientific society in the late 1700s. He's taught Latin, Greek, science, music, and pretty much every subject an educated man of the time might be taught. This was unheard of during a time when many negroes were slaves, even in the north. But something isn't right. Every time he defacates the "result" is weighed, and everyone in the house (except Octavian and his mother) is referred to by a number instead of a name. Eventually, the boy discovers what's going on and what his role really is. And then the Revolutionary War begins and that changes everything.
Pox Party isn't a book that I would recommend to every teen. It's slow moving, long, and doesn't have a lot of action. But for kids in 7th or 8th grade and above who like digging into a book that makes them think, it's a real page-turner -- and an eye-opener. I would also recommend it to middle school and high school teachers of Revolutionary War history: excerpts from the book (or, even better, the audio book) powerfully convey an experience of that period of history in a different voice.
