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marasnextread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
3.5
It’s good, but ends on a cliff hanger? Like it should have been longer, my class was disappointed in the ending.
louamb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An exciting and informative book to introduce kids tp the civil war.
lawbooks600's review against another edition
3.0
6.5/10, this concept has been done before. Did like the subtle feminist message though.
panda_incognito's review against another edition
3.0
This installment of the Girls Survive series is very suspenseful, and there are lots of well-researched details related to the setting and what the main character would have experienced if she had really existed. I especially like how the author connected her fictional main character to real-life women spies from the Civil War, tying in this story with true events.
I would like to give this book four stars, but I'm giving it a lower rating for dangerous historical oversimplification. In most cases, it doesn't matter to water down history a little bit for kids, because you don't want to make it too difficult for them to understand, but this book's glowing portrayal of the Union as anti-slavery gives the Union and its leaders far too much credit. This kind of misrepresentation can make Black kids feel betrayed later, and can make white kids more vulnerable to seeing the Confederate cause in a sympathetic light, since they can discover how badly books from their childhood distorted the truth.
Ultimately, the Civil War was about slavery, but individual motivations for fighting varied, and the Union did not go to war to eradicate slavery. Instead, the Union went to war to preserve the nation after states seceded and joined the Confederacy. This book's portrayal of all Union soldiers as anti-slavery, and of the Civil War as a righteous crusade, is misguided. At first, I wanted to excuse this as the protagonist's limited and hopeful perspective, but the author's note did nothing to nuance this portrayal. There were many, many Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War as a a righteous crusade, but equating the Union to the abolitionist cause is misleading and untrue. Slavery was still legal in some Northern states, and some Union generals owned slaves.
This book is an exciting, educational glimpse into a major turning point in American history, and kids who like spy stories and historical fiction will enjoy this. However, I can't give it the glowing recommendation that I would like to because of the author's misleading representation of the past. I'm not sure if she was just trying to make history seem more welcoming to kids of color, or if she was writing based on her own lack of understanding, but painting the North and the South in such broad, sweeping, Good Guys vs. Bad Guys strokes is misleading and potentially damaging. I would encourage parents who are reading this with their kids to provide additional context and learn more about the war with them.
I would like to give this book four stars, but I'm giving it a lower rating for dangerous historical oversimplification. In most cases, it doesn't matter to water down history a little bit for kids, because you don't want to make it too difficult for them to understand, but this book's glowing portrayal of the Union as anti-slavery gives the Union and its leaders far too much credit. This kind of misrepresentation can make Black kids feel betrayed later, and can make white kids more vulnerable to seeing the Confederate cause in a sympathetic light, since they can discover how badly books from their childhood distorted the truth.
Ultimately, the Civil War was about slavery, but individual motivations for fighting varied, and the Union did not go to war to eradicate slavery. Instead, the Union went to war to preserve the nation after states seceded and joined the Confederacy. This book's portrayal of all Union soldiers as anti-slavery, and of the Civil War as a righteous crusade, is misguided. At first, I wanted to excuse this as the protagonist's limited and hopeful perspective, but the author's note did nothing to nuance this portrayal. There were many, many Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War as a a righteous crusade, but equating the Union to the abolitionist cause is misleading and untrue. Slavery was still legal in some Northern states, and some Union generals owned slaves.
This book is an exciting, educational glimpse into a major turning point in American history, and kids who like spy stories and historical fiction will enjoy this. However, I can't give it the glowing recommendation that I would like to because of the author's misleading representation of the past. I'm not sure if she was just trying to make history seem more welcoming to kids of color, or if she was writing based on her own lack of understanding, but painting the North and the South in such broad, sweeping, Good Guys vs. Bad Guys strokes is misleading and potentially damaging. I would encourage parents who are reading this with their kids to provide additional context and learn more about the war with them.
jennybeastie's review against another edition
4.0
Things I liked:
a gentle introduction to the Civil War
cool spy techniques for sharing information
based on real people and their actions
Black and White people working together to change things for the better
Things I was less excited about:
Charlotte is a free person, but she still acts as a servant and there's no talk of her wages -- as an adult who has more context I can see the ways in which her situation is far improved from what a slave child might endure -- a clean and tidy cabin with a floor and windows and heat and furniture; protection rather than abuse from the white people who have direct power over her; regular food -- but she's still absolutely subject to the whims of her employer, with little explanation. She still seems to be hungry and cold on a regular basis, and she's still censured for defiance. Again, it makes sense in the context of the story that these things protect her from worse, but it troubles me as a reader. I guess that's what real history looks like -- often uncomfortable and hopefully troubling to the reader.
I really love this series -- in particular, I love what Nikki Shannon Smith is doing with it -- her stories keep centering Black children in history in a way that most other writers have failed to do. She's bringing visibility to the fact that not only have Black people been in this country since its founding, but they've also been active participants in most, if not all of the significant events. She backs up her fiction with really great spotlight nonfiction in the back matter, and she consistently involves lesser known historical figures in the narrative.
a gentle introduction to the Civil War
cool spy techniques for sharing information
based on real people and their actions
Black and White people working together to change things for the better
Things I was less excited about:
Charlotte is a free person, but she still acts as a servant and there's no talk of her wages -- as an adult who has more context I can see the ways in which her situation is far improved from what a slave child might endure -- a clean and tidy cabin with a floor and windows and heat and furniture; protection rather than abuse from the white people who have direct power over her; regular food -- but she's still absolutely subject to the whims of her employer, with little explanation. She still seems to be hungry and cold on a regular basis, and she's still censured for defiance. Again, it makes sense in the context of the story that these things protect her from worse, but it troubles me as a reader. I guess that's what real history looks like -- often uncomfortable and hopefully troubling to the reader.
I really love this series -- in particular, I love what Nikki Shannon Smith is doing with it -- her stories keep centering Black children in history in a way that most other writers have failed to do. She's bringing visibility to the fact that not only have Black people been in this country since its founding, but they've also been active participants in most, if not all of the significant events. She backs up her fiction with really great spotlight nonfiction in the back matter, and she consistently involves lesser known historical figures in the narrative.
america_maxon1096's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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