KIRKUS REVIEW
Toward the end of the Civil War, much of northern Virginia is a wasteland, houses and farms destroyed, the smell of smoke lingering in the air. Now the war has reached 13-year-old Haswell Magruder. When a young, wounded Confederate soldier—pursued by Yankees—rides into his family’s life, he sets in motion a chain of events that changes their lives forever. With their house burned to the ground and the farm in ruins, Haswell and his sister must set off on an odyssey across war-torn northern Virginia to find safe haven with relatives. Haswell is an effectively drawn character—too young to fight, but old enough to understand his place in a country at war with itself. Through his eyes, readers see the consequences of war better than any exposition of dates could provide. A memorable journey in the voice of a young boy whom readers will care about, a first-rate story, and an essential addition to Civil War collections. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
