The Hollow Tree

United Empire Loyalists! Now that I better know what they are, I find this a curious children's book for Canadians. From my understanding, a lot of Canadians (no matter how recently they arrived from Europe, including [a:Susanna Moodie|94474|Susanna Moodie|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]) had a pretty strong antipathy towards Loyalists. The problem with reading this in Grade Eight was that I had become so image-conscious that I disliked the female protagonist for being homely on the cover. How terrible is that?

READING LEVEL: 5.8 AR POINTS: 9.0
(Ages 10-12 or higher)

This novel was written by Canadian author Janet Lunn and is written about the Revolutionary War from the point of view of the Tories of Britain’s king versus the Patriots of New America. So, the story may be a little biased on the fact that it just wasn’t the rebels (Patriots) going around killing and removing families from their homes. History shows the Tories were also going around and murdering whole families where they had more control during this time. Still, I very much enjoyed this novel. The divisiveness among friends and families, so great they were willing to kill each other for their views, makes one pause as the tensions escalate here in America today. These are show more things I never would have thought about ever happening during the Revolutionary War.

The year is 1777. Families and friends were being divided between the Loyalists, or also known as the Tories, who stood with Britain and its king’s totalitarian control, and the Rebels, the Patriots who wanted to be free from underneath king's high taxation and control. Rumors of war had just begun, and anger and violence between the two parties has escalated to an all time high.

This story is about fourteen year old Phoebe Olcott who lived on one side of the Connecticut river in New Hampshire, and her cousins who lived just across the river in Vermont. Her father went off to fight with the rebels and was killed, leaving her alone. Phoebe's mom had died some years earlier of a sickness.

Gideon, her cousin, went off to fight with the Tories. But, he came back as he was passing through to see the one he loved and left one last time. Gideon was found out and hung from a tree by the local rebels, the Patriots, people he knew and who were most likely neighbors and/or friends of his before the war began.

Gideon's sister, Anne, blamed Phoebe and her family for Gideon's death. She ran away to the hollow tree that had been the cousin’s secret meeting place ever since they were small children. There she found a tiny package and letter written by Gideon, who had been given orders from the Loyalists to deliver a message to Fort Ticonderoga in New York in regards to providing safety for three families whose sons were away fighting the Revolutionary War with the Tories.

Phoebe loved Gideon as a brother, even though he did side with Britain's, so she made a promise to herself that she would try and deliver this message for him to save the three families, who probably had little children, as Phoebe had just witnessed a close neighbor and her children being thrown out of their home by the local rebels with no regard for the children's lives.

Phoebe would have to walk a 50 mile trek, she thought by following a creek, called Trout Brook, and over a mountain range to Lake Champlain. What would take a grown man who knows how to survive in the wild one week, it would take fourteen year old Phoebe three weeks. But, the creek ended pretty suddenly a little way's into the woods. Now she would have to try and find her own way through as she remembered survival skills taught her by her cousin, Gideon.

This is her adventure along the way, a story I really enjoyed. Although, I felt like her surviving in the woods would have been more believable had it been a young boy, especially during that time period. show less

The Hollow Tree by Janet Lunn is an interesting historical fiction novel set in the 1770s Revolutionary War era. It tells the story of 15-year-old orphan, Phoebe Olcott, who decides to cross the mountains of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York to deliver a message to the commanding British General of the War. She takes it upon herself to fulfill this mission after her beloved cousin Gideon is hung for being a British soldier/spy. There are many trials and tribulations during Phoebe's journey, and she matures into a very self-reliant individual.

This is a very likeable historical fiction novel that shows a different side to the Revolutionary War--those who supported the British side. It is has an enjoyable plot with interesting show more characters and a sweet romance. Phoebe in particular is a great character with depth and is a true example of a strong woman. The Hollow Tree isn't the best historical fiction I have ever read, but it will be fun for fans of this genre. I would recommend it for 5th grade and up. show less

Informative (survival) and historical (Wartime) with romance.

gg award
the canadian children's book centre