I am Rebel by Ross Montgomery
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
Format: E-ARC
Number of pages: 240 pages
Publishing: May 27th, 2025
Source: Banholzer PR
Opening Lines: "The day begins exactly as it should."
Rebel wakes up at the first signs of dawn, while his human, Tom is still trying to shake off the cobwebs before breakfast. Rebel's been with Tom since he was a pup and has never left the farm. He loves everything about their life together and wouldn't change a single thing. Outside the farms fence, the king's guardsmen patrol the roads collecting taxes and imprisoning offenders. Usually, they don't bother Tom and his family.
Then one day, two guardsmen enter the families home demanding a double payment of their taxes, if they don't pay they wont receive a permit to travel on the king's roads, cutting off their path to take their sheep to market to sell, thus putting Tom's family at risk to starve. Tom knows that there is no way that his family has the means to pay the king's men, but angering the guardsmen only seems to make things worse. Once there were the Reds that fought against the Imperial rules, but they've all but been killed off or have disappeared.
Tom tires to convince his parents to refuse to pay the increased taxes, thinking that they can't arrest everyone or bleed them dry, but his parents have a very different point of view. They've lived through the previous rebellion and are only trying to keep Tom safe, but Tom isn't willing to back down. So, in the middle of the night he runs away with a stranger, Rider, who he meets along the farm fence. Rider tells Tom that a new revolt against the king has started and this time they'll remove him from High Castle so everyone will have a stable future. Rider claims that they've organized a thousand men and hope to recruit more, Tom's drawings will become posters on display in every village and tell people how to resist and join in the fight. But in order to come with Rider, Tom must first agree to leave Rebel behind. The last thing that Tom gives his beloved Rebel before sneaking away is his red neckerchief. Rebel is a good dog and tries to adhere to Tom's command to stay, but with Tom now headed toward a war where he might die, Rebel can't leave him unprotected and alone so he too runs away to find him.
From the author of The Midnight Guardians and The Chime Seekers comes his latest book I Am Rebel, the story of the strong devotion between a human and a dog. Rebel just wants to be considered a good dog. As I said before, he's more than happy to be on the farm helping tend to the sheep. He loves all the smells and sights of farm life. I smiled as I was reading the descriptions of Rebel coming down for breakfast and catching a whiff of Tom's dads clothing. The mix of "sheep's wool, sour milk and mud." I spent a couple of years in college near Monfort's, a meat packing plant in Northern Colorado and let me tell you that's not the smells I think of when I think of cattle. There was one day of the week that was always especially ripe all across campus.
The story is an adventure filled with setbacks, triumphs and an interesting mix of side characters. There's Jaxon a big dog who is proud of being a stray, master less, free to roam wherever he wants, Seamus a pig whom Rebel and Jaxon save from becoming sausages and gather valuable information about routes that go through the mountains. Rollo a pub dog who has questionable allegiances to Rebel's cause, Pearl a hard working donkey and even Felix a dormouse searching for his wife. The two primary characters would be Jaxon and Rebel who head through the wilderness, crossing a huge river to follow Tom's lingering scent to bring him home.
I love how Rebel's exploration of the wilderness opens him up to how expansive the world outside of his little farm is, how he realizes things like the air and water are fresher and cleaner. But this new world also comes with new dangers that he's never experienced. How to find safe food, make your first kill and even how to stay protected when they find wolves in the area. I love how Jaxon and Rebel learn from each other. Jaxon has had a world of experiences in the wild and is willing to teach Rebel, while Jaxon learns that companionship or having a human comes with benefits too. Jaxon at first feels really gruff and set in his ways and it really is a beautiful thing to see him open up to new possibilities. The resolution of the story is very satisfying and filled with tear inducing moments again highlighting that love between human and dog.
Favorite line: "Small nothings can move mountains if you let them."
I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE