Title: League of American Traitors
Author: Matthew Landis
Publication: August 8th 2017 by Sky Pony Press
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 256
Format: e-ARC
When seventeen year-old Jasper is approached at the funeral of his deadbeat father by a man claiming to be an associate of his deceased parents, he’s thrust into a world of secrets tied to America’s history—and he’s right at the heart of it.
First, Jasper finds out he is the sole surviving descendant of Benedict Arnold, the most notorious traitor in American history. Then he learns that his father’s death was no accident. Jasper is at the center of a war that has been going on for centuries, in which the descendants of the heroes and traitors of the American Revolution still duel to the death for the sake of their honor.
His only hope to escape his dangerous fate on his eighteenth birthday? Take up the research his father was pursuing at the time of his death, to clear Arnold’s name.
Whisked off to a boarding school populated by other descendants of notorious American traitors, it’s a race to discover the truth. But if Jasper doesn’t find a way to uncover the evidence his father was hunting for, he may end up paying for the sins of his forefathers with his own life.he confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…
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My thoughts:
It was so, so difficult to keep up with the pacing of this book. I really wanted to like this one because of its interesting premise, but it just did not work out that well for me. The concept was well-thought of, however the execution was the one extremely lacking. The potentiality that it could have delivered greatly had me in high hopes.
The League of American Traitors is an association of historic traitors that has made America today. Jasper, who has a traitorous father, is definitely on the ropes when he is invited to this association. His life is at stake, as well as the other descendants of historic people. Although he wants to amend and correct history, he is hindered by obstacles and people who do not want to rewrite history.
I do not really have a lot to say about this book because I did not really feel anything while reading this. To be completely honest, it was hard to coerce myself to finish the book. The author’s way of writing was normal, but I felt that that were no emotions at all. The ending which was supposed to be a part that makes you somehow, at the least, emotional, but it just did not make me feel that way.
To give you a more vivid detail, I could perhaps compare this book to a roller coaster who only goes up and down without twists and turns. In the first part of the book, there was not a single thing that interest me at all. But, all of a sudden, the middle part kept me at the edge of my seat because this book delivered me what I truly enthused over. Then, it just slowly went downhill again, and even the climax did not feel like a climax at all.
Before I end my review, there are still some good and commendable things about this book. First, the title is very intriguing which made me curious. Next, the action that it has brought was packed and intense. Last, the premise is what I completely admire about this book. Unfortunately, it just did not hold up its end of the bargain.
From what I can say, the book has a potential because of its concept, but the concept has a really wide scope, thus I believe that it takes time to execute it well. Also, the characters were introduced in a rush, and the author just splashed names and names into my face without me getting to keep up. I just really wish that it could have been a lot better.
2 swords for historic disappointment!
About the author:
Raised in Bucks County, PA, I returned home after four amazing years at Penn State to the greatest job of all time: teaching 8th graders American History. I also convinced the most ridiculously amazing girl I’ve ever known to marry me, bought a dog, lived in a renovated barn for two years, and then decided it was time for a home that didn’t have animals underneath.
It’s simpler than that: I love history, but not in the old, awful, kill-me-now-please kind of way. My passion is convincing my students that the past is actually hilarious, shocking, tragic, disturbing, and altogether UN-boring. While getting my graduate degree in History at Villanova, I realized that there was yet one more way to do this: write contemporary young adult books laced with history to convince my students that the past doesn’t have to be a life-sucking topic. That’s a huge reason why I wrote The League of American Traitors.
Some other stuff: I love poetry but don’t understand it; I want Gordon Ramsay to give me a fatherly hug at some point; I tend toward the unapologetically dramatic; I’m a recovering gamer who can sometimes be found reading the novelization of HALO. I firmly believe that self-deprecating humor is the best kind.
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