The Year of the Hangman, by Gary Blackwood, has a great premise. The year is 1777 (three gallows, hence the title), George Washington has been captured, the Patriots exiled to New Orleans, the Revolutionary War all but lost. A great “What if??” right? Well, sort of. The plot revolves around Creighton, a 15-year-old (who sometimes acts much older than 15, in my opinion) English boy who’s a bit of a rogue. His mother tires of him and arranges to have him shipped off to his uncle in Charles Town so she doesn’t have to deal with him any more. Once there Creighton’s uncle is transferred to Pensecola, and in route their ship is attacked by a group of Americans and Creighton’s uncle is captured. Creighton isn’t because he was supposed to be posing as an indentured servant, so the Americans take them under their wing. Well, actually, he’s supposed to be a spy. Still, it’s pretty interesting.
The problem comes at the end. Creighton makes a very believable switch to the American side (he’s living with Ben Franklin, who meets a very unfortunate end, and becomes friends with Benedict Arnold), but the ending just kind of falls apart in my opinion. It’s not something I can put my finger on, though. Maybe I wanted more… it kind of ends on a downer note (though with some hope, I guess). Maybe I wanted something else to happen. I don’t quite know. It was a great idea, and it held it for a while, but in the end fell flat. I suppose you can’t win them all.
The Book Nut 
Hey thanks for the review I found it on Google and I’m reading the book for a L.A. class I’m taking and I was kinda confused on it. Thanks
LikeLike
hey thanks for the review. i needed it for my class i had a project on it.
LikeLike
thanks for the reveiw. i just got done with the book and i was kind of confused. i agree with you about the ending…it kind of fell apart, and my project is to write what happened after the end of the book.
LikeLike
Well that just saved me 12 days of reading this book… =)
LikeLike
This book was one of the best I have ever read. I wish that it were longer, or even that there were a sequel. The thought of what might have happened if the Patriots had lost the war is just mindboggling. I loved this book.
LikeLike
This book is too awesome. If there were more books like this on the market, children would be more interested in reading AND history. These books are what spark a child’s interest in reading, and what might have happened. A hypothetical situation like this is one that makes for a GREAT read.
LikeLike
this is the most boooooring book i’ve ever read
LikeLike
yea..so i came to this site to get info on the book..cuz i had to do a book review..and i didn’t feel like reading the book..so thanx for the information.
LikeLike
yea..so thanx for the book review..cuz i needed to do a book review on this book…and i didn’t feel like reading it..cuz i read the first like 20 pages..and it was pretty boring..so thanx ne ways
LikeLike
hey thanks
LikeLike
This review had some information I needed for a book report, like the others that have posted before me. (=P) I couldn’t find the age earlier, I suppose you would’ve needed to calculate that from years, but I couldn’t find any key time lines. And I also agree with you, in the end… everything just fell apart, like the author ran out of motivation and inspiration.
LikeLike
this wuz great. the end is so much better
LikeLike
I want more books of this genre ‘speculative history’ to be published. I love the ‘what if’ type books. What if Atlantis never sank? What if the Bolshevik Revolution hadn’t succeeded? What if Heron of Alexandria had taken his ‘steam ball’ one step further and made an engine and thrown the world into an ancient industrial revolution? What if, what if, what if? It’s amazing.
LikeLike
hey. thanks for the review, like all the other people on this site, i needed it for a book report. and i read like 8 pages and i was bored out of my mind. i’m reading the twilight series (<3) at the moment and i'd rather be reading about vampires rather than the revolutionary war. haha.
LikeLike
I was wondering are their any real historical events because i have a project due on it, and my teacher will not listen to me that there are no real historical events. HELP!
LikeLike
ugI was wondering are their any real historical events because i have a project due on it, and my teacher will not listen to me that there are no real historical events. HELP!
LikeLike
Wow. This is astonishing. It looks like practically an entire class visited your blog because they couldn’t do their homework!
LikeLike
i still need the theme and stuff. geez, i need help1
LikeLike
Just about, Jeanne. PEOPLE WHO COME HERE BECAUSE SOMEONE OUT THERE ASSIGNED HANGMAN… I don’t do book reports. I do book reviews. I’m here to recommend things, not to do your homework for you. Read the damn book yourself.
LikeLike
Ok seriously! For anyone who might need a summary, I'll give it to you, but you better read the story because I will purposely skip parts. You people are lucky! Perhaps some really important information will be left out. Basically, Creighton gets kidnapped and he is sent to Charles Town to live with his uncle. Creighton becomes friends with Harvey Hale( Lieutentant Hale) He claims that he willing went over when his uncle, Colonel Gower, asks him why he came. His mother sent him because he was too unruly and they go to Florida the following day. On the way, they get captured by a ship of Patriots. He meets a ton of people and he ends up working for Benjamin Franklin with a French girl named Sophie. He also meets guy named Peter. Harvey Hale and Colonel Gower get captured and Creighton helps them escape. Okay well this is all I am writing. There is still a ton of the book, but I hate summarizing and its a lot of work. You just have to read it guys! It is actually a really good book. There are factual information in there. There isn't much, but there is.
LikeLike