Book Review - The Pact (The Illustrated Colonials, Book One) by Tom Durwood @TDurwood @maryanneyarde

 

The Pact

(The Illustrated Colonials, Book One)

By Tom Durwood

Publication Date: June 22, 2021. Publisher: Empire Studies Press. Page Length: 218 Pages. Genres: Young Adult / Historical Fiction / Adventure.

Six international teens join the American Revolution.

Coming of age and making history.  

They went into 1776 looking for a fight. Little did they know how much it would cost them… 

Six rich kids from around the globe join the Bostonian cause, finding love and treachery along the path to liberty. 

A new perspective on one of history’s most fascinating moments. 

Amply illustrated edition of a young-adult historical fiction novel. 

 

Book Rating:

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down. I Highly Recommend it.

📚📚📚📚 = A really great read.

📚📚📚 = It was enjoyable.

📚📚 = It was okay.

📚 = Um...! 😕

My Review

The Pact

📚📚📚📚 

This story is about six young and wealthy children who are brought together to attend a special school (The School for young Monarchs) where they learn various lessons all of which leads them towards the American Revolutionary Wars.

If you are looking for a fun historical fantasy with great illustrations then this is the book for you. If you are looking for a fantasy that runs along with the historical accuracy of the era then this book isn't for you. The author does not let anything as tedious as historical fact get in the way of a good story!

I thought the concept of this novel was very original if not a little underdeveloped. I wanted to spend more time with the characters, to get to know them and to watch and understand as they begin to know themselves and what part they have to play in this story. There is some brilliant writing in the story, I would have liked just a little more detail.

I took some times to think about how many stars I was going to give this novel. Initially, I thought to give it 3 stars, but I decided to read the novel again (as it is quite a short book this was no hardship) before I settled upon a star rating and I am glad that I did. On the second reading, I felt a little more at home in the world that the author has created and the illustrations certainly helped to bring the story alive. Therefore I have settled on a 4-star rating.

You can pick up your copy of this book on Amazon. If you subscribe to #KindleUnlimited you can read this novel for free.

Tom Durwood is a teacher, writer and editor with an interest in history. Tom most recently taught English Composition and Empire and Literature at Valley Forge Military College, where he won the Teacher of the Year Award five times. Tom has taught Public Speaking and Basic Communications as guest lecturer for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group at the Dam’s Neck Annex of the Naval War College.

Tom’s ebook Empire and Literature matches global works of film and fiction to specific quadrants of empire, finding surprising parallels. Literature, film, art and architecture are viewed against the rise and fall of empire. In a foreword to Empire and Literature, postcolonial scholar Dipesh Chakrabarty of the University of Chicago calls it “imaginative and innovative.” Prof. Chakrabarty writes that “Durwood has given us a thought-provoking introduction to the humanities.” His subsequent book “Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism” has been well-reviewed. “My favorite nonfiction book of the year,” writes The Literary Apothecary (Goodreads).

Early reader response to Tom’s historical fiction adventures has been promising. “A true pleasure … the richness of the layers of Tom’s novel is compelling,” writes Fatima Sharrafedine in her foreword to “The Illustrated Boatman’s Daughter.” The Midwest Book Review calls that same adventure “uniformly gripping and educational … pairing action and adventure with social issues.” Adds Prairie Review, “A deeply intriguing, ambitious historical fiction series.”

Tom briefly ran his own children’s book imprint, Calico Books (Contemporary Books, Chicago). Tom’s newspaper column “Shelter” appeared in the North County Times for seven years. Tom earned a Masters in English Literature in San Diego, where he also served as Executive Director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity.

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