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The following is the latest in a series of occasional book reviews of books authored by CL contributors and listed on our Book Store page.
The Price of Loyalty by Gail Copeland
REVIEWED BY FRANK T. SIKORA
Copyright is held by the author.
YOUNG MEN on a journey, whether Sam and Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Lennie and George in Of Mice and Men, or August and Woodrow in Lonesome Dove, are a call to action for readers of all ages—a chance to immerse oneself in an unfamiliar culture, landscape, and time, real or imagined.
In Gail Copeland’s young adult historical novel The Price of Loyalty, two brothers, Samuel, 16, and Jake, 13, embark on a post-American Revolution journey from 1787 New Jersey to the British colonies in Canada to carve out a new home for their family. This journey is fuelled by local political pressure and the loss of their family home to American Loyalists.
The Cooper family supported King George III during the British and American conflict—a fascinating premise for a young adult novel and an intriguing opportunity for American readers to understand a period and place from a Canadian perspective.
As with all journeys, conflict and trials test the young brothers. In checklist fashion, the boys encounter bears, bugs, snakes, black flies, raging rivers, tornadoes, indigenous personnel, hostile revolutionary supporters, and disease. They endure loneliness, self-doubt, and physical isolation. Through the course of the novel, they discover love interests and engage in adolescent sibling squabbling.
The novel contains wonderful moments when it rises to the narrative challenge, especially when Ms. Copeland delves into the details of the era. When the boys tend to a neighbour suffering from typhus, the description of the man’s physical agony and the fear permeating the family pull the reader into the era’s difficulties and survival challenges. Also, Jake’s perseverance and problem-solving abilities sustain the boys throughout the novel. He develops friendships with local indigenous people, learns to hunt and preserve game, and nurses his brother through his bout with typhus. On these occasions, The Price of Loyalty’s world-building becomes whole and dimensional. However, these moments are too few for a fully realized narrative.
Given the length of the journey (a months-long slog through the North American wilderness), the book’s short length works against creating an immersive experience for the reader. At 184 pages, the novel is far too short to render these struggles effectively; often the tension necessary for compelling scenes is not developed. At times, the journey feels more like a walk through a museum than a gritty, harrowing, and exhausting journey through a hostile environment. It touches on necessary subjects and themes but often fails to create the desired visceral and emotional experience. The reader’s journey is further marred by expositional dialogue and lapses into modern vernacular.
Having said that, I look forward to Ms. Copeland’s next attempt. May her next endeavour contain more of the period details, visceral hardship, and gripping tension necessary for a suspenseful tale.
***
Frank lives in Waterford, Wisconsin with his wife, Holly, an English teacher. His work has been published online and in print in Canada and the U.S. Every once in a while one of his flash fiction pieces will win an award, which his wife will acknowledge with a smile and a comment, such as, “It still needs a middle, sweetheart.”
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