Camouflage: A Gripping YA Thriller - A Teen's Discovery of His Father's Anti-Government Militia

by Gloria D. Miklowitz

Kyle’s summer is shaping up to be just like he’d hoped. He’s finally getting to spend two months at his father’s cabin in Michigan, learning how to shoot guns, drive trucks, and be a real man. But he can’t help but wonder what's really going on in his dad’s gun club. He doesn’t start getting uneasy until he finds out the gun club is really a militia preparing for war with the federal government. And he doesn’t start getting scared until he finds out what the militia is planning to do.

Genres: Young Adult

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

With a relentless concern about contemporary issues and problems that affect teenagers, Gloria D. Miklowitz (USA, b. 1927) examined such topics as rape, suicide, teen marriage, divorce, AIDS, sexual abuse, and racial prejudice in her novels. She helped teen readers look at underground militias, vigilantism, religious cults, steroid use among high school athletes, and the effects of nuclear war. She enabled readers to view the famous battle of Masada from both sides. She also wrote nonfiction on a variety of subjects, from earthquakes and raccoons to President Harry Truman, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., and tennis star Tracy Austin.

Reviews

[Rebecca Radnor · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written but disturbing book about home-grown terrorism. Rebellious 14 yr old from LA goes to visit his dad in rural MI, only to discover he's the general of an anti-gov militia. At first he's excited to be with his dad who will let him drive, smoke, drink, and is willing to train him to use guns, but then he begins to realize just how much hate the people around him posses.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle is having a terrific summer. He escapes his unreasonable mother in LA and he is finally getting to spend two months at his father’s cabin in Michigan, learning to shoot guns, drive trucks, and ride horses. But something seems “off” at his dad’s gun club, and when he discovers that the gun club is really a front to train militia for war, Kyle must wrestle with his sense of right and wrong. His father is the general of the army that may attempt to overthrow the federal government. If Kyle tells the authorities what is happening, will his father find out? Will they ever heal the breach?

Kyle makes friends, but the locals are unsavory bigoted characters. When the IRS seizes a neighbor’s farm for back taxes, Kyle witnesses Hiram’s death in an armed confrontation. Hotheaded Ed retaliates by planting a van of explosives beneath the federal building in Lansing. Kyle blows the whistle, but not in time to save all the federal workers.

Although the idea of home-grown terrorists may be disturbing to some readers, Miklowitz offers a well-written account that is sure to launch interesting discussions.

[CarolewithanE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting story line. Especially interesting now as this topic has entered our current headlines.
I read this years ago and I just ordered it to re-read.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyle hates living in with his strict mom and all her rules. Now that she has a new boyfriend who's a cop, things are even worse. He convinces her to let him go spend the summer with his dad in Michigan. At first Kyle is thrilled with the leniency and laid-back attitude of his father. However, he is quickly caught up in the conservative right-wing activities of his dad's "gun club" which is actually a local militia determined to defy the feds.

I found it to be quite predictable with very stereotypical characters. Students will probably like it more than I did however. Could be a good read for reluctant boy readers.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyle wants to spend the summer with his dad in Michigan rather than L.A. with his mother and her new boyfriend. When Kyle arrives, it seems like a picture perfect piece of small town Americana. But his opinion starts to change quickly. First, there's Hiram, a 16-year-old who makes racist comments in everyday conversation. The ATF agent's daughter seems to think Kyle is someone to be feared and Kyle's father has a whole storehouse full of weapons and ammunition. Is his Dad's gun club really a cover for a Militia group? Is his dad really the person Kyle thought he was? And when the government threatens to take the Johnson farm, how can Kyle stop the impending violence.