The Sons of Liberty #1 (MG)

The Sons of Liberty (#1). Alexander Lagos and Joseph Lagos. 2010. Random House. 176 pages.

I rarely trust the publisher's own synopsis of a book. This one reads

"With its vile villains, electrifying action, and riveting suspense, The Sons of Liberty casts new light on the faces and events of pre-Revolution America, including Ben Franklin and the French and Indian War. American history has rarely been this compelling--and it's never looked this good."

But I was in the mood for a graphic novel, and I thought I'd give this one a chance.

Within a few pages, I was hooked. (It actually had me reading standing up for a couple of minutes--something that almost never happens.)

The two protagonists of The Sons of Liberty are runaway slaves. While running for their lives, running for freedom, these two--Brody and Graham--get caught up in a brutal experiment--an experiment that leaves them with amazing super powers. The boys do not understand this change--and neither does Benjamin Franklin and his friend Benjamin Lay. Both men have different ideas of what is best for the boys--one would seek to keep them secret, keep them protected; the other seeks to train them in the African martial art dambe, to train them to fight for what they believe in, to fight against the evils around them. What does the future hold for these two? Well, that remains to be seen as this is just the first in the series...

Historical fantasy set in Colonial America.

So I have to agree with the synopsis on this one. It is very compelling. (Read in one sitting. Read anxiously at that. I just had to know what happened next.)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews