Avi has always been great with historical fiction, and now comes a take on the events of the American Revolution. Young Noah's father is killed by rebel vigilantes and he swears to avenge him, becoming a spy for the British. This provides such an interesting perspective to young readers, challenging them and Noah to think about their loyalties and the true meaning behind their convictions. The dissonance of men calling for freedom while keeping other men enslaved? I used to be such a huge fan of Avi in elementary school and was thrilled to see something new - and even more thrilled at the conversations it has started.

Avi is one of the finest contemporary authors, and he happens to mostly write juvenile fiction. "Loyalty" weaves poignant ethical questions about misinformation and rumors in a community against a sweeping personal story of the American Revolution from the Loyalist poinbt of view. Just brilliant as usual, Avi.

I'm typically a huge fan of Avi's books, but this one definitely fell short for me. First, it feels very anti-American by encouraging readers to empathize with the British during the Revolutionary War. As we all know, perspective is everything and a writer can make a reader feel sorry for whoever they want, hence the rising popularity of stories being told from the villain's POV. That's definitely what this seemed like.

Loyalty has such a different feeling to it than his others, which definitely feels like a push toward left-wing ideology. Can we just keep to good storytelling instead of agenda driven books? Hard pass on this one. I will say I'd still read his next book and hope that this isn't a new pattern for him.

My son is reading this for his 5th grade Language Arts class and in order to help him I have been (slowly) reading the book a bit ahead of him. I enjoyed this book. Overall I have always enjoyed Avi's writing. I think there were some great thoughts in this book and that it challenged many previous preconceptions. What does it mean to be loyal? Why do we choose to be loyal to certain things? Much of the story gets the reader to really think about why we make the choices that we do and why we choose to fight for those things.


I have to say that the only issue I had was with the end note and putting the "storming the capital" on January 6th as being on par with the Revolutionary war. While it was a horrible act I think that we need to stop going over it and twisting the narrative for a political purpose, while ignoring so many other things going on in our country that is of much higher importance. Or even better, take a closer look at the things going on in the world.

I absolutely loved the Loyalist perspective. Typically most stories about the American Revolution is from the Patriot point of view, so this is an interesting twist. And of course, it’s Avi.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of Loyalty.

I've loved some of Avi's books but this wasn't one of my favorites. It explores some interesting topics, an aspect of the American Revolution that we often ignore. And I like that it does not portray either side of that conflict as "right", as morally perfect. We see positive and negative aspects of both groups. The difference between idealism and the quest for power and wealth. It might be interesting to read alongside something like Johnny Tremain.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really good! I have always enjoyed everything by Avi, but this was such a fresh perspective on the Revolutionary War. I think it's a must read, especially for students studying the war.

I have loved Avi's books since I was a child and this one did not disappoint. As an adult, I was very moved by his characters and the trauma of the revolutionary war he portrayed. I felt in the wake of the Trump years, his exploration of our country's origins was very thoughtful and though provoking. I would recommend this book to both child and adult readers.

Avi is one of my all-time favorite middle grade authors. One thing I think he excells at is writing books that span a wide variety of genres. His longevity is also impressive, as I loved his books when I was a kid and now, as an elementary school librarian, I love to purchase his new books to put in my library. However, I found this book to be a little slow-moving and, sadly, could not finish it.

I thought I would like this one but found it a bit boring. I appreciate the review copy, thanks again.

Avi has been a favorite childhood author of mine from The Good Dog to Poppy to The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. I admire the way he takes historical fiction and makes it so accessible for young readers, and Loyalty holds true to that praise.

So many stories that take place during the American Revolution ignore the nuance of having your friends, neighbors, and family split by their beliefs about the future of the colonies, but Loyalty shows those nuances well, especially for a story of children's fiction.

It is also timely as it addresses misinformation, distortion of facts, and the effects that partisanship have for all as we see the U.S. as a country divided by political parties since its very conception.

Coming of age stories during times of unrest hold a particular appeal as we can see how the current events impact those individuals and this was a story I can see using in my classroom teaching 5th grade about the events leading up to the American Revolution.

Avi, always a masterful writer, has crafted another stunning tale set during the Revolutionary War.

Noah flees with his family to Boston after his father is brutally killed by revolutionaries. Noah can only think about revenge so he becomes a spy for the British. He soon sees the dark underside of the war and the lies and hypocrisy of it all. Now torn between his roots and the budding young nation, Noah must decide where his loyalty truly lies.

Noah quickly learns that the world isn't black and white. War is a complicated issue and this puts young readers right into the mind of a child during that time. The content can be dark but Avi manages to keeps it light enough to be age appropriate without sacrificing the gravity of the era.

The addition of the black character Jolla really put the time period into perspective, especially while Noah grapples with his own views on slavery.

Definitely a great addition to a classroom library as well.

Newbery Medalist Avi explores the American Revolution from a fresh perspective in the story of a young Loyalist turned British spy navigating patriotism and personal responsibility during the lead-up to the War of Independence.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of "Loyalty" by Avi.

Noah Cope sees his father being dragged out to be tarred and feathered in the middle of 1774. This only confirms his loyalty to King and England. With little option Noah and his family move to Boston to live with distant family. Here Noah must work and becomes a British spy working in a tavern to gather information on the Sons of Liberty. Will being away from his father's influence and small town of Tullbury allow Noah to start thinking for himself or will his loyalty get in the way?

I thought that for a middle grade novel about the American Revolution this gave an interesting perspective, especially seeing as it was from a Loyalist perspective, and it was also fast paced enough that you don't get bored of all the information that is being given to you. Jolla was a great introduction to a Black character who didn't hold for simple fools and also occupied an almost unheard of place of power in this story.

As an adult reader I found Noah very frustrating. He couldn't make a decision to save his life and even down to the end he really hadn't made a decision. I understand why he had to be the way that he was, to show growth of character and how even in war nothing is ever black and white, it can be so hard to choose sides. However, as an adult reading this it felt wishy-washy that Noah never was able to answer whether he was a Loyalist or not after the first few parts of the book. The dialogue between Noah and Jolla also was a bit frustrating at times and while I understand that spoken words might have been said like this the lack of words that were written down so that sentences were only half formed was a little frustrated to read versus what it would feel like to hear them spoken. Lastly I did dislike that the parts were labelled with the year. Since this only takes place between 1774 and 1776 and each section is given a date I think it was a bit redundant when each part was given a year, especially because there were many more than three parts so they were not even sectioned by year.

Overall I gave this book four stars out of five and would recommend it to middle grade readers, especially those who liked "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson as it read a lot the same, especially the high action sections..

Once again, Avi doesn’t disappoint. I read Charlotte Doyle last year and lived it! This book is also just as wonderful. Avi writes books that really make you question life. Noah is a young boy growing up during the American Revolution. His family supports the King. The title of this book is Loyalty and it is also the theme. I read it in one day.
This is a young adult book, but I think adults will like it as well. I want to thank the author, publisher, and Netgalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Loyalty is the newest published novel from my childhood favorite author. Newbery award-winning author, Avi, has written over 60 books for children and young adults.
In Loyalty, we get to explore the American Revolution from a whole new perspective. Fourteen-year-old Noah Cope describes his day to day as a young Loyalist turned British spy, navigating through the arduous ideals of patriotism and personal responsibility at a time when the hypocrisy of fighting to be liberated is still at the cost of those enslaved.
It read like an intricate exploration of a time period that feels oddly relevant to our current time, as we still try to strike that delicate balance of trying to maintain our freedoms and figure out where our loyalties lie.
This would make an excellent addition to an American Revolution curriculum, but it has a very slow plot progression. The uniqueness of the perspective and the discussions that would result from this book are worth the price of admission.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love Avi but this was a bit of a chore to get through. I imagine kids would lose interest but those that really love history would probably like it.

Noah’s loyalist dad is killed from being tarred and feathered so his mom takes the family to an uncle’s house in Boston. There, to be loyal to his dad’s beliefs in the Crown, he becomes a spy at a tavern run by a free Black man named Jolla. Jolla opens Noah’s eyes to the hypocrisy of the Sons of Liberty who want freedom for themselves but not for slaves and the British Loyalists who own slaves and forcibly use slaves as soldiers. Noah realizes he needs to think for himself about to whom he is loyal — but it’s not an easy choice. Avi does an incredible job showing Noah’s inner turmoil and sharing the historical setting and events, this would be a great book club book!

A book about the American War of Independence. It explores concepts of loyalty between family, black and white people, the loyalists and the revolutionaries. The main theme is to "think for yourself".

The book is well researched. The characters, descriptions of place and events are all believable and the conflicts within individuals are explained very well. Very much like Halse Anderson's "Chains". I hope it will be read not just for its historical relevance but for its relevance today in a number of conflicts including black lives matter.

Thank you Netgalley and Clarion Books for the gifted book that I read along with the library audio.

To be honest, it's hard as an American to read a Revolutionary War book where the protagonist is a Loyalist. But I really appreciate how Noah, the main character, has to examine where his loyalties lie throughout this book. How he has to examine each side's perspective and weigh the pros and cons of siding with each. I think this is a great book to discuss with kids about how good and bad in politics is almost never black and white. This is my favorite type of book because it was very character driven and not a ton of plot happens, but I do think that it is a fascinating read, especially for the middle grade crowd.

Content Warning: murder, racism, war violence