Christopher Hawkins and His Daring Escapes (Young Readers Edition): A Revolutionary War Novel

by Jeanne Becijos

Celebrate America’s 250th with this real-life story of a young teen’s fight for his country 1776-1782
An amazing true story of a young sailor during the American Revolution
For readers ages 8-14
The Revolutionary War is raging, and 12-year-old Christopher Hawkins runs away to follow his dream of being a sailor and a patriot. During his sea adventure on an American privateer, the British capture his ship. Quick-witted Christopher escapes at his first opportunity.
At 17, Christopher joins another American privateer but is soon captured by the British. This time, he is delivered to the notorious British ship HMS Jersey, the war’s deadliest prison. Armed with only courage, cunning, and a sense of humor, Christopher Hawkins will face death unless he can escape from his British captors twice more.

"This novelization is at turns harrowing and funny as its cycles of capture-and-escape gets twistier and ever-more surprising."
—Publishers Weekly, BookLife Editor's Pick

“A rare book that brings history alive in the most exciting way—full of memorable characters and real-life, harrowing adventures!”
—Carol Cujec, award-winning author of REAL

For grades 4–9, Christopher’s tale of survival and patriotism will resonate with young readers who love adventure, history, and stories of resilience.

Christopher's escape leads him through New York City, Sag Harbor, Long Island, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. This thrilling tale of survival is adapted and expanded from the author’s great-great-great-great-grandfather’s oft-quoted memoir, The Adventures of Christopher Hawkins.

194 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 12, 2025

Reviews

[Deborah Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Hawkins and His Daring Escapes (Young Readers Edition)
A Revolutionary War Novel

By: Jeanne Brownlee Becijos

Publish Date: December 9, 2025

Publisher: Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op

Children's Fiction/ Historical Fiction/ Middle Grade

#ChristopherHawkinsandHisDaringEscapesYoungReadersEdition#NetGalley





I would like to thank Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

Book Review:

I so enjoy a book the revolutionary war. It doesn't matter to me if it is for young readers or for my age. I like to read stories so that I can understand the war the better and sometimes it is easier to take in when it is geared to the younger crowd. I gave this book 4 stars. I think the children will enjoy reading this story and feeling what Christopher felt towards this new beginning. I also like how the author put her heart into the story and then gave use the back story on why she wrote it.

In this book Christopher wants to be a sailor and to fight the King and his mean. He wants to be free not only in his real but from the crown. He is young but full of love for his new country and his family. He is able to escape several times due to his own wits or from the help of others. Along the way he learns things about himself.

I highly recommend this book not only for the younger people but also for the adults and it would be great if the adults would read along with their children to have a great discussion.

[Joey Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Torch Publications / Victory Editing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

What an interesting adventure this young man went on, from patriot ships, to prison ships, to escaping capture over and over again, to living in the shadows as he searched for safety and so many other things before and in between on his journey. It’s hard to imagine someone managing the life he led, he was in so many scary and unusual situations through his life.

It’s a great historical read, the story is told in so much detail you can picture everything that’s happening. It’s full of incredibly intense and scary moments where you are left in suspense wondering what exactly will happen next. I was really gripped reading this book, I really enjoyed following Christopher Hawkins on his adventure during the war.

To think though that this was real, that this young lad actually went through this tough and difficult patch of life. It really does blow your mind to imagine how horrible and how difficult every situation he found himself in was. He was an incredibly brave young man and I’m glad he lived to tell his story.

This is a book I’d highly recommend, it would be great for schools if they are teaching this era of war, it is also great for historical fans. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and until the end didn’t realise it was a true story, but that added so much more depth to what I read.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Hawkins and His Daring Escapes by Jeanne Becijos was such a fun, fast paced adventure that completely swept me up from the first chapter. What makes it stand out is how it weaves real historical settings and details into Christopher’s daring situations, giving each escape a richer sense of time and place. Christopher himself is incredibly easy to root for, resourceful, brave, and just mischievous enough to make every escape feel exciting.

Jeanne Becijos does a wonderful job balancing storytelling with history, making the past feel vivid and alive without ever feeling like a lesson. The pacing stays sharp, and the historical elements enhance the stakes rather than overshadow them. Age appropriate, well written historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

[Adpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating story of a young boy who wanted to help the Revolutionary War effort by sailing on a ship, hoping to capture British ships.... despite his too young age. Although I read the Young Readers Edition, it was a wonderful story taking place when our country was just declaring our freedom. And then to find out that the story was a real-life event! Such courage!
I was provided with a copy of an ARC of the book, this review is my honest opinion.

[Rural Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a free copy of this book. While the story is interesting, the execution of the story was not done well. The vocabulary was redundant and the adjectives used throughout the story felt juvenile. With some additional editing, it could be a really good story, but its weaknesses distract from the overall story.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for your child as they follow the adventures of a young man who will end on several ships until he is a captive on a prison ship. He will be faced with many challenges so follow him to see how he gets on
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and my nephew loved it