Young Adult Fiction — Review

The Youngest Spy

by Barry McDivitt
Thistledown Press, 2007
ISBN 978-1-897235-17-1
$12.95, 176 pp, ages 8 – 12
www.thistledownpress.com

The youngest spy in this novel is 14-year-old George Duguay. The story is set at the time of the American Civil War, and although George is Canadian, he and his family are swept up in the conflict. George’s father is away fighting in the war, having joined the Yankee army in order to help support his family, leaving George to help his mother manage their small chicken farm. Inadvertently, George finds that his egg delivery route in a very young Toronto is a valuable cover for the spying that certain visitors to the town ask him to perform. As he becomes more aware of what is going on, and acquainted with the people he is spying for, George is faced with some moral dilemmas.

Although young readers will have to keep their wits about them to keep the characters and their allegiances straight, the story will have special appeal to boys in the 8 to 12 age range, and will teach them much about an important period in North American history.

Return to Book Review List