Sons of Liberty

by Adele Griffin

After helping a friend run away from home, Rock Kindle must come to terms with both his loyalty to his family and his desire for independence

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Abuse

230 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

from Wikipedia:

Adele Griffin is the author of over thirty highly-acclaimed books across a variety of genres, including Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be, both National Book Award Finalists.

Her debut adult novel The Favor explores themes of friendship, surrogacy, and nontraditional family building.

Find her on TikTok at @adelegriffinbooks and Instagram at @adelegriffin or www.adelegriffin.


website: www.adelegriffin.com


Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/adelegriffi...

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adele-G...


Open Road Media interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSa3P...

Reviews

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and thought provoking, but it has a handful of swearwords in it, which drives me crazy. No child's book should ever have profanity.
That being said, I think the book does an excellent job of opening the conversation on hard topics--physical abuse, mental abuse, and mental illness--without getting too dark or too heavy. I would be okay with my kid reading it, with the swearing whited out

[Charmayne Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. I like how the title makes you think that it will be historical fiction but then you read it, get so attached and realize it's realistic fiction and an amazing book. The main character, Rock feels like he's in the American Revolution because he doesn't know what side to choose and it is like a continuing battle against his dad, George and the rest of his family. A perfect story of how families aren't perfect but a nice family is something to be thankful for. This book also represents how many times people are to scared to stand up to bullies so they just let them walk all over themselves and others.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really intense, painful, expertly written book about familial abuse. Deceptively accessible and easy to read, the story is impressively dark and uncomfortable in ways the reader slowly becomes aware of through context clues; the main character is an amazing depiction of a person so gaslit that he's near-oblivious to the implications of the situation.

Definitely a piece of art.

[Crystal ✬ Lost in Storyland]

Sons of Liberty is a quick read told in simple language, yet thought provoking in its exploration of domestic abuse. Threaded throughout the story are references to the American Revolution, as Rock uses his knowledge of American history to understand what's happening to his family and make a decision about which side he'll take.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rock is a 13-year-old history buff, an expert on the American Revolution. He and brother Cliff are trapped in a home with a father who wants nothing more than to control his sons completely. The author parallels this family situation to that of the colonists (specifically the Sons of Liberty) rebelling against the King of England. What ensues is a gripping story about a family in turmoil.

[Nick Solia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adele Griffin's book The Sons of Liberty made me interested in the knowledge of this little 7th grader on how much he knew. This book to me, sees a boy and his friends who are very interested in their history and what historical did to be known in the past world. The author makes the characters very believable to me.

I sort of get a feeling of pretection from the three main characters- Rock, Liza, and Cliff. These characters pretect and defend each other from any harm that can come for them. Cliff, is sort of a negative boy to me I'm not sure, one of his lines is "I know you'll depend on Rock because if someone will mess with, who is going to defend you?" That line sounded a bit interesting.

The plot to this book, is not the bad. I would've thought because of the title: "Sons of Liberty", I kind of thought I wasn't going to be interested in it, but when I read a few chapters in, this book really intrigued me. I'm trying not to give away the plot to this novel, but I don't know how else to describe it.
The setting where this book takes place, is really close to what life is like in the place we live in. For example, abandoned houses, etc. The author has shown a lot of similaritites to our world, sort of where we live and all that.
This book I think sort of relates to current events, i don't have any examples. I sort of made a little connection to this book with me, thoughts about leaving, doing things, etc.

[Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rock Kindle, a seventh-grade history buff, is fascinated by war but is blind to the one that is brewing under his own roof. His older brother, Cliff, is getting fed up with their militant father's belittling remarks and harsh punishments, which include waking the boys in the middle of the night to do calisthenics and chores. Rock, on the other hand, admires and defends his father's toughness ("All he's doing is trying to improve us, as a family. And I think that's wicked decent, actually"). Rock thinks his life is easy when compared to that of his best friend Liza, who gets beaten by her stepfather. But after Liza runs away, Rock begins to notice how his own family is crumbling. In a gripping climax, he is forced to do some quick soul-searching, and choose whether or not to join the rest of his family in abandoning his father. Griffin's (Split Just Right) pointedly jarring dialogue and keen ear for adolescent jargon have a magnetic quality few readers will be able to resist. Pulled into Rock's nightmarish existence as an abuse victim, they will witness a heartwrenching example of split loyalties. Rock's "wake-up call" does not necessarily provide a happy ending or clear solution. Reflecting on the casualties of his shattered home life and his betrayal, he acknowledges that "revolution is a strange and complicated thing." Ages 10-up.

[Brenda Windsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up in a house of mental abuse, this story opens the discussion to what abuse can look like. The boys are subjected to many late night "drills" that are not discussed. Although they don't deal with physical abuse, mental abuse causes permanent scars as well. Liza, the neighbor from down the street deals with the physical abuse. The brothers are made aware of her issues. Children need to have language to discuss these situations. Even children growing up in healthy homes can be exposed to children at school in need of support. This book helps open the doors to discussions about what to do if you know of someone struggling.

[Haley Whitehall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Griffin wrote an interesting and gritty story. It dealt with childhood abuse by comparing the experience of the Kindle boys to the Patriots in the American Revolution. While I wished some more of the story questions had been answered in the book and it was faster paced I think she did a good job of dealing with a difficult subject. The story is told in the POV of seventh grader Rock. He fought with his loyalty to the end and I was relieved when he made the right choice.

I think there is enough meat left on this story for a sequel. If you are looking for an age appropriate book for children to explain abuse I would recommend this one.

[Kathryn Woodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very serious and could be used in the upper elementary as a read aloud. It is very relevant to what is going on with the youth of today. If used at home I think it would lead to great group discussion.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is depressing and serious. I didn't really enjoy reading this novel, and wasn't terribly fond of the protagonist, Rock. While his story reflects the reality that many families aren't happy, I felt that parts of this book dragged. I would recommend the book "Call Me Hope" instead.

[Joant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has such a compelling character in Rock. He is a 7th grader slowly coming to recognize the abuse to which he is subjected. His fascination with the Revolutionary War seems so sad as he seeks his own freedom.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an odd book. The characters were either completely original or just strange, because they kept doing things I couldn't expect. The writing was good but the plot didn't resolve, IMO. I kept thinking there would be more about Liza, but there wasn't. Strange, strange, strange.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this story. I wanted so desperately to care about these brothers trying to escape the abuse around them, but all I could focus on was how much it felt like the story just rambled from one character to the other. Too bad.

[Reader Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been better. The focus seemed to be on Rock's acceptance of his overbearing father and his brother's questioning of that, but then their friend Liza became the main theme. While there are lots of good talking points in the story, I think the book's drive is too scattered.

[jounseen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe Lisa is coming back
I believe the family will be together again.
Soon.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read that tackled some tough issues not normally seen in YA. At least some I haven't seen that is. Ha.