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I Am Rebel: The award-winning must-read animal adventure everyone’s talking about – a heartfelt tale of one dog’s mission to save his human for ages 9, 10, 11, 12; Waterstones Children’s Book of the Year 2024 and NYT bestseller

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I Am Rebel: The award-winning must-read animal adventure everyone’s talking about – a heartfelt tale of one dog’s mission to save his human for ages 9, 10, 11, 12; Waterstones Children’s Book of the Year 2024 and NYT bestseller by Ross Montgomery

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By Ross Montgomery

avg rating

21 reviews

CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS (CBA) OVERALL WINNER 2025
WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS WINNER 2024
THE CARNEGIE MEDAL NOMINEE 2025
SHEFFIELD CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2025
FCBG CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2025

A heart-warming adventure about the unbreakable bond between a dog and his human from a beloved and twice Costa-shortlisted author.

""A beautiful, heartfelt adventure."" Sophie Anderson

“I’m Tom’s dog, and he’s my human. We belong to each other.” Rebel is a good dog, and he loves his simple, perfect life on the farm with his owner Tom – until one day the war comes too close… Now Tom is determined to join the rebellion to defeat the king’s men. But Rebel knows war is dangerous, and he will stop at nothing to save the human he loves. Rebel must bring Tom home before it’s too late.

""A fantastic quest novel that sits between Charlotte’s Web and War Horse. Rebel’s voice is true and clear: he is the best of dogs and this is the best of books.” Phil Earle

""An instant classic. Outstanding writing and a richly adventurous story – Montgomery has reached a whole new level."" Katya Balen

“A terrific tail! A tail-thumping, tongue-lolling treat full of adventure, humour and heart.” Ross Welford

“I Am Rebel both broke my heart and made it sing. This book is as close to perfect as it’s possible to get.” Natasha Farrant

“The goodest story about the goodest boy. I love Rebel like my own dog.” Carlie Sorosiak

“A beautifully crafted and heartwarming story. The animal voices were so funny and the wider message about courage, belonging and delighting in small nothings was just gorgeous. A little marvel of a story.” Abi Elphinstone

“An instant animal classic. Thrilling, original, funny and deeply moving.” Lauren St John

“Heartstopping animal adventure. A new canine hero is born.” Piers Torday

Reviews

26 Aug 2025

Such a great story

05 Aug 2025

It was an amazing,inspiring book and Rebel was a very smart dog and i really enjoyed it.5 stars

30 Jul 2025

A story of friendship and loyalty. A great book for key stage 2.

15 Jul 2025

Super book, must-read animal adventure for animal lovers.

24 Jun 2025

This book was A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. Quick preveiw, Toms dog, Rebel live peacefully on the farm, until one day, a strange man appears and changes their lives forever . . . Please read it, its great!

19 Jan 2025

I think this story had a moral of who ever you are you cannot change where you belong. I like rebel the best because he made some heroic decisions and was loyal to his owner.

09 Jan 2025

I thought that this book was spectacular. It was one of the best books that I have ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves stories including dogs and/or other animals.

08 Dec 2024

A book I started this morning and finished this evening…the boy, the friend/dog and the war.

08 Dec 2024

I think it is sad but not sad it's hard to explain. I really enjoyed the book it was an amazing read; I'd highly recommend it to animal lovers!

13 Oct 2024

Fantastic pacy and emotional. Great plot and ending

16 Sep 2024

I loved this book, told from the point of a view of a dog. It's a fast-paced, exciting war story about loyalty and love.

16 Sep 2024

AbbyAlessandrelli

This is a wonderful story of loyalty, bravery, friendship and adventure told by a scrappy little dog called Rebel, that will appeal to a broad age range, either for reading alone or being read to. though not based in a specific time or place, the story has elements of historical fiction; it tells of a rich and greedy king who demands more taxes, leading to a rebellion. Rebel lives on a sheep farm with his boy, 12 year old Tom, who lies about his age to join the Reds in the fight against the king, but leaving rebel behind. Rebel has many adventures and scrapes on his quest to find Tom, meeting a variety of animals and humans along the way. It's a lovely, heartwarming story and is told entirely through the eyes of Rebel. Recommended!

15 Sep 2024

I am Rebel is a heart warming story with such an unbreakable bond woven into it. I think one of the many reasons it is so great is the fact it is from the perspective of a dog (Rebel). So, the way that it is written actually sound like a dog would say it. Ross Montgomery brings the best out in the pages and the words written down. I would say this book is as close to perfect as you can get. It makes your heart dance and sing. So well written that you want to turn to page after page. Many exciting and new imaginative characters you meet on a journey that you will never forget. Rebel is the best of dogs and this book is the best of books.

03 Sep 2024

Loved the book and would recommend to my friends and families.

03 Sep 2024

Recommended

03 Sep 2024

I loved this book because the story was original and showed how much animals love their owners and would do anything for them. It was a war book so parts were sad, there is a twist at the end which I enjoyed. I would recommend this book.

20 Aug 2024

A fantastic adventure story told through the eyes of Rebel, a little farm dog who is on a mission to save his owner, meeting many characters along the way. My son (year 7) was gripped, finishing the book in a few days - me too!
A super read for UKS2, boys and girls. I’ll be recommending this to my Year 5 class.

03 Aug 2024

I really liked this book and it made me think about dogs and how they think. It was a beautiful story about friendship, love and family. Five year old dog Rebel is living a content, happy life on his farm when twelve year old Tom, his owner, goes off to join the Reds, the rebellious group who want to kick the cruel, tax hungry king off his throne. Rebel doesn't want Tom to join the war - he might get killed in the fighting so Rebel goes on the adventure of a lifetime with Masterless Jaxon the dog. I would recommend this book to animal and adventure lovers. 8+.

30 Jul 2024

A fantastic adventure story through the eyes of a dog. Full of hope, friendship, and love. It’s about fighting for freedom and understanding what freedom is.
This will be loved by many children and adults - definitely recommended for Year 5 up!

26 Jul 2024

Ms Wiz

Lovely story about the connection between a dog and his master and also about the dogs life with the people he meets along the way. You get to feel and smell the world from the dogs perspective. I loved the dog 'Rebel' as he didn't care about the troubles he would face when trying to find his master Tom but he only knew that he loved his master and wanted to find him and bring him home safe. Definitely recommend to years 5 upwards

13 Jul 2024

I loved this book so much that I couldn’t put it down it took me approximately 2 days to read it. My favourite character was Rebel as he was didn’t give, he basically gave up his life for Tom, luckily he didn’t die. I would rate this to anyone 9+.

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