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The Booker Rebellion
Not yet published
Expected 20 Nov 26The overriding household mantra in the Booker household is: Pay attention. Notice what’s right. Notice what’s wrong. Do what needs to be done.
The Booker siblings — fifteen-year-old Belinda, twelve-year-old Jack and six-year-old Emmy — discover a corpse in the forest near their remote western Oregon home. With their parents away fighting wildfires in Alaska and an aunt they barely know running the household, the kids seem to be on their own as they uncover a secret militia caching weapons in the woods and bent on government sabotage. When their aunt goes missing and a deputy sheriff actively obstructs their effort to find her, the Bookers become targets themselves in a deadly struggle.
But the “Booker Rebellion” has another tale woven through the intrigue, one that reveals how Belinda, Jack and Emmy have become resourceful and self-reliant enough to tackle what comes their way. Free-range kids, they are the offspring of war veterans still serving in the National Guard. Clay and Mimi Booker may be physically absent, but their wisdom whispers through the story. And that withered aunt? She is not what she appears.
The Booker siblings — fifteen-year-old Belinda, twelve-year-old Jack and six-year-old Emmy — discover a corpse in the forest near their remote western Oregon home. With their parents away fighting wildfires in Alaska and an aunt they barely know running the household, the kids seem to be on their own as they uncover a secret militia caching weapons in the woods and bent on government sabotage. When their aunt goes missing and a deputy sheriff actively obstructs their effort to find her, the Bookers become targets themselves in a deadly struggle.
But the “Booker Rebellion” has another tale woven through the intrigue, one that reveals how Belinda, Jack and Emmy have become resourceful and self-reliant enough to tackle what comes their way. Free-range kids, they are the offspring of war veterans still serving in the National Guard. Clay and Mimi Booker may be physically absent, but their wisdom whispers through the story. And that withered aunt? She is not what she appears.
258 pages, ebook
Expected publication November 20, 2026
About the author
Susan Palmer
2 booksAuthor Susan Palmer chased stories across Alaska and Oregon while reporting for the Anchorage Daily News and The Register-Guard in Eugene. Her reporting carried her deep into mountain forests, out onto the Pacific Ocean, into courtrooms and living rooms, hospitals and jails. She’s interviewed police and politicians, soldiers and sociologists, children and centenarians in a career that spans 30 years. In her first novel, The Tabernacle Bar, family members wrestle with God and truth and place and betrayal. In her forthcoming novel, The Booker Rebellion, siblings rely on each other and their resilience to survive an encounter with a militia while their National Guard parents fight wildfires far from home.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
FULL REVIEW WILL BE ON NOVEMBER 20.
Ready for an adventure with savvy children who know their way around the forest even during a wildfire and staying away from a gang?
THE BOOKER REBELLION is intense and fast paced with great descriptions and characters.
If you enjoy strong, well developed characters and a great storyline, you won't want to miss this book.
A very enjoyable read. 5/5
Ready for an adventure with savvy children who know their way around the forest even during a wildfire and staying away from a gang?
THE BOOKER REBELLION is intense and fast paced with great descriptions and characters.
If you enjoy strong, well developed characters and a great storyline, you won't want to miss this book.
A very enjoyable read. 5/5
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Fifteen-year-old Belinda Booker is in charge of her younger siblings: 12-year-old Jack and 6-year old Emmy. Their parents, Clay and Mimi Booker, are members of the Oregon National Guard and in Alaska to fight wildfires. The children are in the care of their Aunt Louise, who prefers watching bad TV than watching the kids. Where they live—five miles from the nearest neighbor and 30 miles from the nearest town—the children have honed survival skills that make them tougher than other kids. It’s up to Belinda and her siblings to figure out the strange noises and the mystery of a dead body on the forest floor in the woods near their home before they become shooting targets themselves.
I actually enjoyed the book as the author doesn't reveal much right away, which made me keep wanting to turn the page, go on to the next chapter, before it starts unraveling. It is realistic fiction that is gripping, exciting, and different from what I usually read. The woods of Oregon are brought to life through the writer's descriptions and the characters who are fully immersed in it, not just because the dead body they find is in it, but also because the woods are their home, too,.
Though it is a book written for the teen set, I must say that it is probably for the more mature teen because there is violence, mentions of marijuana, and some cuss words used in the story. There is no drug use in the story, though.
Overall, as an adult, I still enjoyed the story and maybe without the bad words, I would recommend it to a younger audience.
I actually enjoyed the book as the author doesn't reveal much right away, which made me keep wanting to turn the page, go on to the next chapter, before it starts unraveling. It is realistic fiction that is gripping, exciting, and different from what I usually read. The woods of Oregon are brought to life through the writer's descriptions and the characters who are fully immersed in it, not just because the dead body they find is in it, but also because the woods are their home, too,.
Though it is a book written for the teen set, I must say that it is probably for the more mature teen because there is violence, mentions of marijuana, and some cuss words used in the story. There is no drug use in the story, though.
Overall, as an adult, I still enjoyed the story and maybe without the bad words, I would recommend it to a younger audience.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Booker Rebellion
📚 Publishes November 20
Wow, The Booker Rebellion had me on the edge of my seat! It reminded me of the stories I loved when I was younger, but I will say this is a book that children, teens, and adults can all enjoy.
There is a lot happening in these Oregon woods. Our young heroes are feuding with the neighbors while also stumbling into an illegal growing operation. A special shoutout for the beautiful imagery of the Oregon forests—I could easily picture the paths and places the Booker children explore. The imagery was especially striking during the descriptions of the fire and the devastation it reaped on the land and the people caught in its path.
Trained by their National Guard parents (who never appear on the page but act as a guiding presence throughout the story), Belinda, Jack, and Emmy are uniquely prepared to handle the hardships headed their way.
This story was suspenseful and kept me completely invested. Switching POVs between the characters at different points kept the story moving forward with a sense of urgency and made it difficult to put down.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this one early. All opinions are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚 Publishes November 20
Wow, The Booker Rebellion had me on the edge of my seat! It reminded me of the stories I loved when I was younger, but I will say this is a book that children, teens, and adults can all enjoy.
There is a lot happening in these Oregon woods. Our young heroes are feuding with the neighbors while also stumbling into an illegal growing operation. A special shoutout for the beautiful imagery of the Oregon forests—I could easily picture the paths and places the Booker children explore. The imagery was especially striking during the descriptions of the fire and the devastation it reaped on the land and the people caught in its path.
Trained by their National Guard parents (who never appear on the page but act as a guiding presence throughout the story), Belinda, Jack, and Emmy are uniquely prepared to handle the hardships headed their way.
This story was suspenseful and kept me completely invested. Switching POVs between the characters at different points kept the story moving forward with a sense of urgency and made it difficult to put down.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this one early. All opinions are my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews