The Liberty Circle

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

With mixed results, Campagna tackles a subject not previously addressed
in Canadian young-adult fiction—racist hate groups. Corey Copeland,
16, who comes from a dysfunctional family and lives in a deteriorating
neighborhood, is an ideal candidate for recruitment into such a body.
When friendly Peter Gunnarsson, the local arcade owner, offers Corey the
opportunity to spend three weeks at Camp Liberty, which is located in a
remote wilderness area, he jumps at the chance. The campers, initially
told they will role-play being Nazis as a means of questioning their
values, instead are subjected to a variety of brainwashing techniques
(including sleep and food deprivation) so that, at camp’s end,
“Brother” Corey emerges a member of the Liberty Circle—a group of
white supremacists who believe in the supremacy of the Aryan race and
the existence of a Jewish conspiracy. The fresh convert puts his new
“knowledge” into practice in a variety of ways, including
distributing hate leaflets at school—an action that gets him
suspended. Drawn deeper into Liberty Circle activities, Corey
infiltrates the new Jewish centre, which is targeted for bombing. Before
the attack can occur, he is struck by a car and hospitalized. Out of the
group’s direct control, Corey is deprogrammed. But the Circle, through
Gunnarsson, attempts to regain Corey’s loyalty; when that fails, they
try to kill him.

Following Corey’s deprogramming, the story falters somewhat by moving
away from the strongly developed social issue and becoming more an
action thriller. Nonetheless, Liberty Circle is a worthy addition to
young-adult collections. Recommended.