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HISTORICAL FICTION AMERICA - THE CIVIL & MEXICAN WARS
The River Between Us (Richard Peck – author of A Year Down Yonder) $6 HBDJ BRAND NEW In this thoroughly researched novel, Peck masterfully describes the female Civil War experience, the subtle and not-too-subtle ways the country was changing, and the split in loyalty that separated towns and even families. Although the book deals with some weighty themes, it is not without humour. A scene involving strapping on a corset is worthy of Grandma Dowdel herself! 10+
Who Comes With Cannons? (Patricia Beatty) $5 PB EC A great novel set during the Civil War, told from the perspective of a southern Quaker family. Truth is 12 when her parents' deaths send her to North Carolina to live with her uncle, his wife, and their two sons. She finally gains acceptance in her new family and they trust her to help them with their activities on the Underground Railroad. Through the war years, Truth matures as she and her family suffer the vilification of Quakers who will not fight for either side. 10+
Jayhawker (Patricia Beatty) $4 PB GC (Small split to cover at base of spine, not affecting binding) To 13-year-old Elija "Lije" Tulley, the fanatical abolitionist John Brown is a hero in a righteous cause. He eagerly joins the band of men recruited by Brown to be Jayhawkers, Kansans who cross into neighboring Missouri to steal away slaves and help them to freedom. The Jayhawkers and their pro-slavery counterparts, the bushwhackers, clash often in bloody, sometimes murderous shootouts. 10+
Charley Skedaddle (Particia Beatty) $5 PB EC Fighting is important to Charley Quinn, 12, a street-tough New York Bowery Boy who runs away from his Irish-Catholic home to join the Union forces in Virginia. But war proves much more horrible than he'd thought, so terrible, in fact, that he deserts, giving himself the disparaging name "Skedaddle."
The Twins, The Pirates And The Battle Of New Orleans (Harriette Gillem Robinet) $5 HB EC (Ex lib) This watery adventure begins with escaped slave twins, Pierre and Andrew, happening upon a pirate island while exploring the Gulf Coast swampland where their father has left them. The boys have been deliberately set against one another by their master, and are in the awkward process of getting acquainted. Pierre is more outwardly cautious than Andrew, although he eventually realizes that there are many types of bravery. It is December 1814, and the events leading up to the Battle of New Orleans take shape around the brothers as they explore and wait for their father's return. 10+
Amelia’s War (Ann Rinaldi) $6 HB EC (Ex lib) The Civil War is seen through the eyes of Amelia Grafton, a young teen living in Hagerstown, MD. The story takes place over a period of three years, and readers learn of the townspeople's struggles as they are forced to split in their loyalties and deal with young men enlisting and families losing their most prized possessions. Amelia, a Yankee sympathizer, wants to make a difference by participating in the war effort in other ways besides preparing food and helping the wounded, the traditional duties assumed by women. 10+
Girl In Blue (Ann Rinaldi) $5 HB EC (Ex lib) Inspired by the war fever of 1861, and tired of her father's mistreatment, 15-year-old Sarah Wheelock determines to run away and join the Union forces to fight the Confederacy. The last straw comes when her father promises her hand in marriage to a man who is twice her age and has the manners of a bear. After she cuts her hair, changes clothes, and lowers her voice, Sarah has few problems passing as a boy: years of hard farm labour have toughened her physically, and she has a natural talent for impersonation. Soon, young Private "Neddy Compton" is on the road to Washington, DC, with the 2nd Michigan Infantry. 10+
A Promise At The Alamo: The Story Of A Texas Girl (Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler) $6 HB EC The year is 1836. The place is San Antonio, before Texas became the 28th state. Maria Hernandez and her family are living within the fortress walls of the Alamo, prepared to defend it against the Mexican dictator Santa Anna. Making powder loads for Davy Crockett's rifle, Maria wonders whether victory or death will be the defenders' fate. She has the chance to prove her own bravery when she makes a promise at the Alamo. But will she be able to slip past the Mexican sentries to keep her promise? And, as Maria and her family participate in the heroic but tragic defense of the Alamo, she discovers that Texas liberty and the refusal to surrender one's beliefs are worth fighting for. 10+ OUT OF PRINT