The Secret of the Youngest Rebel by Jackie French (Harper Collins) RRP $14.99 (PB) ISBN
9781460754801
Reviewed by Nean
McKenzie
Set in Sydney in
1804, this junior fiction novel is about Frog, a young orphan surviving on the
streets of Parramatta, despite a set of difficult circumstances. Not knowing who
either parent is, Frog sleeps at Ma Grimsby’s pie shop in return for some
pick-pocketing (or ‘dambling’). While stealing an apple pie, Frog meets the Irishman
Phillip Cunningham, who is kind. Frog then follows Phillip who
is the leader of the ‘Castle Hill Rebellion’.
The shanty town
where Frog lives is not painted in an appealing light. The currency is rum.
Most people are either convicts or ex-convicts, with the scars to prove it.
Frog is constantly hungry, unwashed and always on guard, but at the same time not
complaining, just getting by in the best way possible.
When Frog meets
Phillip, another kind of life presents itself. Freedom becomes an ideal and
Frog joins up with the soldiers, willing to fight. Unfortunately, because this
is based on true history, the ‘Republic of New Ireland’ never comes about. But
Frog does find another kind of hope.
The best thing
about this story is the twist, which I didn’t guess at all, so I’m not going to
give it away. Also, very effective are descriptions of early colonial Sydney –
the smell of wood smoke and the taste of greasy salt mutton. Aptly depicted on
the front cover, the character of Frog is the other best thing about the story.
From the first introduction, any reader will be on Frog’s side.
Author’s notes at
the back include a glossary (with words like ‘gammon’ and ‘Shank’s pony’). Also
included are notes about the Castle Hill Rebellion, Phillip Cunningham and the
transportation of Irish people to Australia.
The Secret of the Youngest Rebel is a thoroughly enjoyable and educational story for
primary school children.
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