George Johnson’s War

MAUREEN GARVIE is a former teacher, journalist and librarian who now works as an editor for McGill-Queen¿s University Press. She grew up in Kingston, Ontario, and returned there after a long stint living and teaching in New Zealand. She is the author of three books for young readers, including George Johnson¿s War, co-written with Mary Beaty (Groundwood, 2002), Lake Rules (Key Porter, 2005) and Amy by Any Other Name (Key Porter, 2009). Maureen now lives in Kingston on the shores of the St. Lawrence, in the same house where she grew up.

Young George Johnson lives in extraordinary times. His father is Sir William Johnson, wealthy landowner in upstate New York's Mohawk Valley, and his mother is Molly Brant, step-daughter of an Iroquois chief and sister of Iroquois leader Joseph Brant. When the War for American Independence comes, George's charmed childhood comes to an end. His brother Peter leaves to fight for the king against the Americans, and he and his family are forced to flee when the rebels attack. Restless, George decides to follow his brother's footsteps into battle. Instead, his mother sends him to boarding school in Montreal, where he spends three miserable years waiting for Peter's return. Finally, now 13, he persuades his mother to let him join in a last raid on the valley where he grew up. Will George survive? Will his country? This moving novel about real people, based on the authors' meticulous research, brings to life a time that forged the future of Canada, the United States, and the fate of the First Nations People.