Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Rifles for Waite
This book was an all-time favorite when I was a young, wishful time travel girl. It's about a boy named Jefferson Davis Bussey who goes off to fight the good fight during the civil war. For the North, of course. He's also from Kansas, which is of course dear to my heart. His folks' horses are stolen and his father's life threatened by some dirty ol' Bushwackers (Missourians), so he heads out and enlists. What I like so much about this novel, on my 26-year-old mind, is that it shows the humanity on both sides. Jeff meets people on the North and South side, and realizes that the Southerners have just as much desire to survive as Northerners. There are some scenes of heartbreaking betrayal of trust, a love affair between Jeff and a Southern Belle, and deaths of close friends. My only problem with the book is the fact that the author says, through the eyes of Jeff, that the war was only about slavery and abolishment. I know that is not true. Some of the writing is a bit archaic (like lots of elipses...), but for the most part it's still a great novel.
# posted by Jessica @ 4:04 PM 
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Once when I was about 12 or 13 I finished reading this book and started reading it again--I loved it that much.
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