By Rodman Philbrick
Reviewed by TFK Kid Reporter Claire Epting

Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of pages: 211

Rodman Philbrick's new book is told from the viewpoint of twelve-year-old Homer P. Figg, during the Civil War. He is orphaned with his big, brave brother Harold, who is 17. They live with their cruel uncle, Squinton Leach, or Squint. After Homer steals from the pigs' slop, his big brother is sold underage into the Union Army. Homer begins a quest to find his brother and bring him home from the war. The journey to find Harold is a wild adventure that involves meeting the most unusual characters imaginable. It leads up to a suspenseful conclusion at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Were the characters believable?

The characters were very believable because most of the events in this book can be related to specific history. For example, the kind-hearted Quaker named Jebediah Brewster is involved in aiding the Underground Railroad, which really existed to help the slaves find their way to freedom. Frank and Kate Nibbly, whom Homer and his caretaker, Webster B. Willow, befriend on their journey, are a scheming pair who are experts at tricking people out of their money. These kinds of people did exist back then. Homer meets the smooth, quick-witted Professor Fleabottom, who leads a traveling medicine show, selling magical "elixir" to customers who believe it's more than just the plain whiskey, which it isn't. These kinds of shows did exist. Finally, the book includes real Civil War generals like Robert E. Lee and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. So, overall, the characters were believable because in many cases they were based on true situations.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), how would you rate this book?

I would give this book a 9 because it has interesting characters, a suspenseful story and a relation to history and the lessons it teaches. But I did feel that this author used several descriptions that were a little gross. I understand that he was just trying to be realistic, but I still felt that these descriptions were overly gross. The rest of the book, however, was extremely entertaining. I really enjoyed how it described Homer's journey, especially once he reached the Battle of Gettysburg. It's a great book for anyone who likes adventure blended with real American history.