I Am Rebel
Cover Page
Name: G.Rao
Title of Book: I am Rebel
Author: Ross Montgomery
Date: January 2026
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Copyright Year: 2025
Number of pages: 298
Ages: 8 - 12
Rating: * * * * *
About The Author
Ross Montgomery is a British author, who lives in the UK with his wife and cat named Fun Bobby. He has written many books, and a number of them are about preparing children for the unexpected, and likes to write action packed books with anticipation, cliffhangers and feeling. Aside from being an excellent author, Ross Montgomery has a lot of fun facts about himself. Did you know he has fainted in front of the Queen of England? I’m sure I would if I was in front of Her Majesty. Mr. Montgomery has won a number of awards, such as the Waterstone Children’s Book of the Year, shortlisted for a competition called Costa Children’s Book of the Year, and Branford Boase Award. Overall, he is an excellent author who has achieved/ achieving many things in his life.
Book Summary
It all starts on a completely normal day when Rebel the dog wakes up. He wakes up his master, Tom, and slobbers all over him until he wakes up. He smells bacon sizzling in the fat in the kitchen. He runs downstairs and he sits in the kitchen until Mum gives him the delicious bacon rind. It all sounds wonderful, and Rebel is sure that the day will be amazing. Little does he know that something will go very wrong… Rebel lives on a farm, and he goes everywhere with Tom. When most of Tom’s duties are done, he and Rebel sit together, play and relax. This was a time of war, when the King took over everything. If you didn’t like the king, you wouldn’t be able to hate him anymore, because you would be dead.
The next day, Rebel is blissfully sleeping, when he is suddenly woken up with the cries of “I said you don’t have a choice!” Rebel immediately woke up, and his first thought was to save his beloved Tom. He sprints downstairs, only to see two of the King’s guards. They are going door to door, demanding double property taxes. Tom almost says that he does not support the King, but he remembers that saying that would cost him his life. Tom meets a man who persuades him to join the Reds, a group to overthrow the King. Tom leaves, and as Rebel is an obedient dog, he waits until Tom comes back. When Tom comes back, he lies to his parents that he didn’t join the Reds. Later the next day, he leaves. Rebel waits, until he realizes Tom won’t come back. He goes to look for Tom, and along the way, he makes new friends and enemies. He faces adventure, and barely survives. Will he and Tom be reunited? Read the book to find out.
My Analysis
As you might know, there are at least two sides to any war. The Reds and the supporters of the King are the two sides in this book. Tom is a Red, and he loathes the King. Tom thinks that everyone should have freedom, and that their lives will not be dictated by the King. The reason why Tom gave Rebel that specific name is because he thinks that everyone should be a Rebel. Tom is twelve years old, but to save his country, he pretends to be 16, and joins the army of the Reds.
At the beginning of the book, Rebel is like the usual house dog. He sleeps on the bed, he begs for food, and does what is normal for a house dog. When he leaves his only home to go bring his beloved master back home, where he will be safe from harm. During the course of the tale, he has to learn not to eat poisonous foods, not to pick fights with animals twice his size, and so on. He becomes braver and more of a leader. He makes friends with an enormous dog named Jasper. Even though Jasper is a bit fierce, he proves to be a great help to Rebel throughout the story. Will Rebel fulfill his quest, and rescue his master? Or will he fail to do so, and never see Tom again? Read this incredible story to find out.
Rebel is usually a calm and placid dog, apart from when it comes to rounding up the sheep. When he does that, he goes mad. Rebel sees the world as a place where there are two sides. He is agnostic about either side, but maybe at the end of the book he becomes a Red… Tom, on the other hand, is a fierce 12 year old lad, who DEFINITELY supports the Reds. Rebel doesn’t understand why Tom cares so much about sides, though. Rebel just wants Tom to play with him at the time. They both see the world differently, but that doesn’t stop them from being incredible friends.
As we all know, war is a horrible thing that causes so many lives to be taken from civilians, deaths of all kinds, and a number of other horrible things. Hot war is a conflict, and usually it is done on a battlefield, where soldiers shoot each other. It can lead to all sorts of bad things, and a lot of lives are taken. The reality of war is that it happened, and there is no way to get out of it. You can try and seek refuge in another country, but usually, there is no way of getting out. War is still happening now, not just in books. There is a war happening between Russia and Ukraine, and it has been happening for 12 years. Hopefully no more wars happen anytime soon.
My Conclusion
This heartwarming book is absolutely TERRIFIC for kids 8-12 year olds. I couldn’t stop reading until the very end, and it was AMAZING. Deb H. from Amazon said “Truly a wonderful story. I didn't want to put it down. Way more than a children's book. Any age could read and enjoy this. I love the story. Beautifully written. I highly recommend this book.” I definitely agree with you Deb H., because this book was one of the best I’d ever read.
