The League of American Traitors by Matthew Landis
Grade: D
Release date: August 8, 2017
An e-galley was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for review consideration.
Summary: Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it. . . .
When seventeen year-old Jasper is approached at the funeral of his deadbeat father by a man claiming to be an associate of his deceased parents, he’s thrust into a world of secrets tied to America’s history—and he’s right at the heart of it.
First, Jasper finds out he is the sole surviving descendant of Benedict Arnold, the most notorious traitor in American history. Then he learns that his father’s death was no accident. Jasper is at the center of a war that has been going on for centuries, in which the descendants of the heroes and traitors of the American Revolution still duel to the death for the sake of their honor.
His only hope to escape his dangerous fate on his eighteenth birthday? Take up the research his father was pursuing at the time of his death, to clear Arnold’s name.
Whisked off to a boarding school populated by other descendants of notorious American traitors, it’s a race to discover the truth. But if Jasper doesn’t find a way to uncover the evidence his father was hunting for, he may end up paying for the sins of his forefathers with his own life.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: It's a shame how disappointing this title was, because it was pitched for fans of National Treasure and Hamilton, and while those are big shoes to fill, I figured this book at least had to be fairly good. How wrong I was...
All the characters felt very surface level. Both Jasper and Nora had emotional moments, but I didn't feel bad for them at all, nor did I understand why they were being emotional. Character descriptions were very amateurishly written and only contributed to the feeling that I didn't know these characters well at all. The boarding school is pretty much a giant cliche, between the ridiculously strict headmistress and the cliques. The whole premise of the book, unfortunately, borders on highly improbable, just because the Libertines, the descendants of the good guys, are holding century-long grudges just because apparently being a traitor is hereditary. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot every time that came up. The mystery of Jasper's dad's research was just a little too confusing, and by about halfway through, readers aren't given enough information to care about it. I found myself continually putting off finishing the book. Finally, the prose did nothing for me either.
There's a fair amount of foul language. Smoking and violence, too.
The Verdict: Sky Pony Press titles have a history of letting me down, so I'm not terribly surprised, but I am sad The League of American Traitors wasn't better.
Will I be adding this book to my library?: Nope.
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