Sophia's War / Avi / 302 pages

Twelve year old Sophia Calderwood lives in British occupied New York City in 1776.  Her family supports the cause of the rebels, and her beloved older brother William dies as a prisoner of war from the horrid, horrid conditions of the British prisons.  The Calderwood family must share their home with the dashing and charming British soldier John Andre who colludes with the traitor Benedict Arnold.  Three years later Sophia avenges her brother's death when she becomes a spy for the Americans and exposes the treachery.  Avi uses the fictional character of Sophia along with the historically accurate story of John Andre and Benedict Arnold to illustrate the horrors of war, the divided loyalties, what it's like to live in occupied territory, and the personal costs of freedom.  Young readers in grades 5-8 will gain a good understanding what it must have been like in 1776-1780.  In an author's note, Avi states, "History provides endlessly amazing stories. Historical fiction, I believe, can illuminate those stories with the ordinary people who make extraordinary history.  Or let me put it this way:  Truth may be stranger than fiction, but fiction makes truth a friend, not a stranger."