This is an introduction more than anything else, as it nibbles on the edges of a feast. (Historical fiction. 10-12)
Miller explores the harrowing and bloody days of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of three girls.
Annie Gordon has run away from home and disguised herself as a boy to enlist in the Portsmouth Rifles of the Ninth Virginia Army. Her inexperience earns her the nickname “strawfoot,” yet she proves to be a worthy soldier with her level head and marksmanship. In Gettsyburg, a local merchant’s daughter, Tillie Pierce, assumes she can watch the war like a parade but is pressed into service as a nurse. The third point of view is the most compelling, provided by Grace Bryan, the fictionalized daughter of another historical figure, freed black peach farmer Abraham Bryan. Grace’s story provides the most suspense, as she is cut off from her family when the soldiers enter the city. The horrors of war are appropriately smoothed for young readers, although there is violence and death. While humanizing this well-covered piece of American history, the three disparate views cannot encompass its breadth and come off as generic soldier, nurse and freed black slave trying to cover the female Civil War experience. The historical minor figures (Mary McAllister, another Gettysburg shopkeeper, and Bryan) glint with bright specificity, leaving readers yearning for more. An author’s note gives insight into Miller’s sources and process.
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3163-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intensely moving, first-person narrative of a disturbing historical footnote told from the perspective of a very likable,...
Growing up in Wilmington, N.C., in 1898, a naive black boy and his family are devastated by a racist uprising in this fictionalized account of a little-known historical event.
On his last day of fifth grade, a buzzard portentously casts a shadow over Moses Thomas, prompting his grandma, Boo Nanny, to warn: “[Y]ou happiness done dead.” Moses lives with Boo Nanny, a former slave who takes in white people’s laundry, his Mama, a housemaid for wealthy whites, and his Daddy, a reporter and business manager of the Daily Record, “the only Negro daily in the South.” Graduate of Howard University and an elected alderman, Daddy ardently believes in the power of education, and Moses tries to follow in his footsteps by reading library books, learning vocabulary words and maintaining perfect attendance at school. In contrast, Boo Nanny thinks her protected grandson “needs to learn by living.” When a mob of white supremacists burns the newspaper office and arrests his father, Moses becomes dangerously involved and discovers what it means to be his father’s son. Relying on historical records, Wright deftly combines real and fictional characters to produce an intimate story about the Wilmington riots to disenfranchise black citizens.
An intensely moving, first-person narrative of a disturbing historical footnote told from the perspective of a very likable, credible young hero. (historical note) (Historical fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86928-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
Nourishing fare for Matt Christopher graduates.
A boy takes first steps on the road to physical and emotional recovery from a bout with polio, thanks to help from a solid new friend and a baseball hero.
After a year in the hospital, Nick gets a harsh welcome home from his embittered widower father. The onus of being a “cripple” is eased by the unfaltering friendliness offered by his baseball-loving neighbor Emma and the news that the owner of the local semipro team, the Bismarck Churchills, has not only signed up more talented “colored boys” but enticed the great Satchel Paige to return for the 1935 season. As his father is the team’s catcher, Nick is enlisted to sell programs and generally make himself useful—which allows him to witness Satch leading a spectacular integrated team to a minor league world championship win. Along the way Nick also watches the renowned pitcher respond with dignity to racial hatred (including an encounter with a “cracker cop”). Absorbing both advice (“Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common”) and some of Satch’s prized “deer oil,” he quickly sheds his leg brace and regains his own pitching skills. Tooke sticks closely to historical records, with the addition of a few extra Paige exploits and aphorisms, and though Nick’s recovery seems a little too easy, the fictional overlay offers a comfortably predictable “hard work brings just rewards” arc.
Nourishing fare for Matt Christopher graduates. (Sports fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-3346-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf