A lovely story, rendered in spare prose by a major writer of historical fiction, Rinaldi’s (Girl in Blue, 2001, etc.) tale takes place in Georgia in 1864. Written in first-person flashback as a plainly told narrative set down at the request of Clara Barton, the main character tells us, it describes 13-year-old Eulinda Kellogg’s attempts to make herself “come true.” Eulinda, a house slave at a plantation close to the infamous Andersonville prison camp for Union soldiers, is the daughter of the plantation’s owner. Though this fact is known to all, including the master’s mean-spirited second wife, the owner has never legally acknowledged Eulinda. Her older brother has run away to join the Union forces—and may, in fact, be imprisoned at Andersonville—and a beloved younger one has been sold. A chance meeting with a man who offers her a role in helping to set the horrors of Andersonville to rights—that is, to bury the Union dead honorably and to turn it into a monument—provides Eulinda with the chance to do something important and meaningful with her life. There is much hard work to be done in this effort, and Eulinda encourages other freed blacks to help her clean and rebuild the place; in addition, as an educated young woman, she paints epitaphs so that all the fallen may be properly memorialized. In the process, she comes to meet and become secretary to Clara Barton, renowned in real life by this time as a champion of the rights of freed slaves and of the effort to pay tribute to the soldiers treated horribly at Andersonville. Eulinda is a beautifully realized character. She speaks plainly but always from the heart, and readers will be swept along by the drama and the history. The author provides a fascinating afterword in which she sets the facts and the many real-life characters in the novel in context and includes a bibliography featuring titles about Barton, Andersonville, and the Civil War. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0533-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Disney-Jump at the Sun
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
Twins Dee and Dezzy couldn't be less alike: Dee loves shopping and socializing; Dezzy loves cleaning up garbage in the park. What little fraternizing Dezzy does is with her father during late-afternoon jogs—when she's too breathless to speak. After health-conscious Grandma suddenly dies and Dezzy breaks a leg, Dezzy and her couch-potato grandfather are thrust together. Grampa's character dominates an otherwise undistinguished cast; the sensitive portrayal of his gruff and angry grief resonates with honesty. Unfortunately, Sachs crams her story with sibling rivalry, bereavement, environmental issues, adolescent alienation, first menstruation, and intergenerational relationships—far more than this slim, unfocused novel can hold. Disappointing. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-525-45096-3
Page Count: 134
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1993
From Sachs (Another Day, 1997, etc.), the smart and funny tale of a really good kid—bright, talented, nice to everyone, the apple of her parents’ eye, and her teachers’ darling—who craves more attention from her parents. There are two big clouds in Gen Bishop’s great life: the presence of her little brother, a holy terror named Ernest, and the fact that he gets all the attention in the family. The occasion of her parents’ 25th wedding anniversary gives Gen an idea’she’ll throw the best party ever for them and snare the spotlight for once. Word of her plan gets out, however, and before long, everyone is helping out—family, friends, and even a few strangers. Gen loses all control; the worst comes when Ernest contacts the children’s estranged grandmother and successfully lures her to the party. This is Sachs, so all’s well that ends well, and predictably, Gen realizes that Ernest isn’t so bad after all. The simple, brisk plot has plenty of lively scenes and the large cast of characters are all believable—and often, believably loony. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-525-45962-6
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1998
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