Preacher, Spy, Apprentice
Fiction for America 250
I want to share some historical fiction books I’ve read this year in celebration of America 250!
Preacher on the Run: a Novel of the Regulator Uprising by Jayna Baas. This Christian Historical fiction has adult characters but clean enough for teens, not a romance so would appeal to boys.
It’s about a Baptist preacher named Robert Boothe, also a member of the Regulators- a group of men that were fighting against the tyranny of North Carolina’s corrupt British government right before the American Revolution. This was interesting because I had not heard of the Regulator Uprising, and the book includes historical notes. It’s well- written with good pacing and action. It’s nice to have a protagonist who’s married with a family. There is a sweet scene where a father leads his young daughter to accept Christ but it struck me as a bit more “modern evangelical” than historical but other than that the book is immersive. I supported this author’s kickstarter campaign and look forward to reading more of her books! I liked that it was set in NC, I’m interested in Revolutionary history closer to my hometown.
Comment with any colonial historical fiction set in SC, NC,GA!
The Harbor of Spies Series by Megan Soja. These are Christian Historical Clean Romances so the target audience is female. I've read the first two: Spark of the Revolution and Secrets of the Revolution. Each book has shared characters, but can be read independently. Romance isn’t a genre I read in often but I did enjoy being immersed in these girl’s stories.
The first book is about a girl named Patience who comes to Boston to meet her estranged Loyalist father, and falls in love with a Sons of Liberty guy. The second book is about a girl named Hannah who helps her father suffering from dementia in the apothecary shop. She helps the patriots send coded messages and so does her love interest. The pacing on this is slower and the internal monologues of the characters a bit repetitive. There’s a battle at the end that I would have liked to hear more about. I will read the third book in the series at some point.
My last recommendation is a classic, Johnny Tremaine by Esther Forbes. I read this book numerous times when I was a kid and decided to revisit it- it holds up! It’s a great book to read as a family and boys will enjoy it. The one thing I forgot about this book is that the ending is a bit open-ended which isn’t bad, but might frustrate kids who haven’t experienced that before-makes for good conversation! It’s a coming of age story about Johnny, a young silversmith apprentice who is tragically injured. It begins with his personal life and challenges but as time goes on the story slowly zooms out and you get the sense this is bigger than just Johnny.
“How old are you Johnny" she asked.“
“Sixteen.”
“And what's that-a boy or a man?"
He laughed. "A boy in time of peace and a man in time of war.”
“All you want is power. Power and control. And we want freedom. On every front. It’s every man’s birthright, the freedom to make his own choices before God. Freedom for you to accept God or reject Him. His truth, His forgiveness, His righteousness. Your choice, because He created you free. Just like every other person ever born.” -Preacher on the Run