Review

Summary: Augusta Dabney is determined to not lose the family farm, despite insistent bankers, an ailing father, and a civil war determined to split the community apart.

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Notes: I am particular about historical fiction: it has to be accurate, it can’t a multitude of battles and blood, and the characters have to be relatable. There are very few historical fiction books that I will read all the way through. This book I have read several times. The Dabney family faces trials and triumphs. Yes, there are sad parts. This is a book about the American Civil War, one of the hardest times in American history. Kendy Pearson describes everything so beautifully, that it makes me want to visit West Virginia. The descriptions are not top-heavy and obvious, going on for paragraphs. They are a natural and inseparable part of the story.

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Age of main character: twenty-ish

 

Violence: War and battle scenes, large fire, hanging, death by illness, general surgery and hospital scenes, gangrene, amputation, punching of faces, supposed death of a character, 3rd degree burns.

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Romance: Two characters have a long-time liking for each other, another two fall in love. One character almost marries the wrong person, feeling forced into it. Not mushy, exactly.

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Scary themes: Generally intense. There is both physical conflict and moral (mostly bitterness) conflict.

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Genre: Historical Fiction