The Hollow Tree
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The Hollow Tree, the third novel in Janet Lunn's trilogy focusing on the
historical roots of Ontario, was the winner of the Governor General's Award for
Children's Literature. Shadow in Hawthorn Bay looks at the pioneer
experience, and The Root Cellar, the first book in the series, explores
Canada's early days as a nation, while The Hollow Tree focuses on the
American Revolution and the part that war played in Canadian history.
Thirteen-year-old Phoebe Olcott is caught smack in the middle of this bitter
conflict. Her father, Jonathan, has decided to join the rebelling Patriots while
her beloved cousin, Gideon, has enlisted in the Loyalist forces. After her
father is killed in one of the revolution's early battles, Phoebe is taken in by
Gideon's parents. But when Gideon secretly returns to his community, he's
captured and hanged as a traitorous spy by members of the Patriots' Committee of
Public Safety and Gideon's family holds Phoebe partly responsible for his death.
Finding a message from Gideon in the hollow tree where they had left messages
for one another in more innocent times, Phoebe, despite her desire to keep out
of the conflict, decides to deliver a coded message to Fort Ticonderoga in
honour of Gideon's memory. It's a difficult journey through the wilderness, and
reaching the fort, Phoebe finds it deserted. Phoebe can't now go back to her
home, where she'll be considered a traitor and probably hanged, so she joins
forces with a group of Loyalists who are making their way to Canada. Lunn brings
this remarkable period to life and creates a story that is at once a gripping
adventure and a tender love story, as well as a first-rate historical novel.
(Ages 12 to 16)
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