Friends of Liberty by Beatrice Gormley is a chapter book about two girls living in Boston during the early years of the American Revolution. One of the girls (Kitty) is from a wealthy Tory family, and the other girl (Sally) is from a more modest family that supports the revolutionary leaders. Although the girls are friends with many interests in common, as the events unfold, Sally must decide what her priorities are and what she believes about the political situation. Further, Sally and Kitty’s friendship is tested as they encounter new struggles.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It seemed like a perfect girls book. I think I would have really liked it when I was young because of the issues of friendship and the difficulty of making decisions, especially having to choose between friends and family. It is hard to imagine the situation that Sally was in, but the book seems to bring it to life.
I had intended to give this book to my young son to read — he is a good reader and he enjoys learning about the American Revolution. I’ve decided not to at this time, mostly because the issues of conflicting loyalties is a difficult one for the young child to understand. Maybe in the future he’ll be able to weigh in with his opinion. For now, though, I would recommend it to 8-12 year old girls interested in historical fiction.
Note: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers for review consideration.
I’ll have to see if I can check it out from the library and see if my little cousin would like it. She’s only seven, but maybe it would be okay for her anyway? She’s a precocious seven.
While mystery novels are usually my guilty pleasure, I do love to read now and then something else, just to change the pace a bit.
Actually I’ve read a non-fiction book by this author a while ago, called C. S. Lewis: Christian and Storyteller, around the times I was heavily into Narnia. She writes well.