I really liked A Dog Before a Soldier by Ray Deptula. It’s not your typical Revolutionary War story—it feels a lot more personal and real. The main character, Jack, isn’t some larger than life hero at all. He’s just trying to survive and figure out where he belongs, which made the whole story feel more relatable.

I also liked that it shows the war from a different perspective, especially fighting on the British side. It’s not black and white, and you can see how complicated everything was back then.

Overall, it’s a really solid historical fiction book that paints a picture that’s much more nuanced than some of the typical insights of a similar genre. It’s a story that makes you think about what people actually went through and how their circumstances shape the beginnings of our country.