I’m not going to be the one to spoil the ending for you. I’ll leave that up to the authors, but maybe I’ll give you a little itty bitty hint. Psst – Read the title. You’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but in this case, the title isn’t a bad thing to notice. You can’t expect a happy, cheerful, glories of war book with a title like this right? You need to expect that it will be a bit dark and depressing.
Tim’s older brother Sam is smart, dashing and incredibly obstinate. He’s decided to join the Patriots (or Rebels, depending on which side is naming them). His father is staunchly against the war, and forbids him to go. Sam won’t listen to his father of course and heads off anyway. Tim is left in the unenviable position of being torn between his father and his brother, with the added bonus of having to lie for his brother and do extra work to help his father.
At its heart, this is an anti-war book. Even more than The Fighting Ground it lays out the confusion between sides and exactly how many of the participants just didn’t know what they were getting into. Tim’s family lives in a Tory town, but loyalties become confused and shift rapidly as people witness atrocities committed by both sides.
It is a dense book and while the war does lead to bits of action throughout, this is not a book with a problem that eventually gets solved. There is a lot of description and a lot of characters. Some readers will struggle to remember who is a Tory and who is a Rebel, others will simply find large sections of the book boring. It is best read by older children who are familiar with either the American Revolution or war in general. I would recommend it for ages 12 and up, but generally strong readers with an interest in historical fiction. It is also a book that would benefit greatly from discussion.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Sam has a girl, he writes to her. Someone undresses before going to bed for the night.
Profanity – “damn” is used at least 10 times. “bastard,” “son of a bitch,” “God”, “goddamn,” “brat.” A black man is referred to as a “Negro.”
Death, Violence and Gore – Again, we’re talking about a war book, so generally there are reported deaths of people we don’t know or care about. Growing up, Sam was hit by his father dozens of times. Father tells of men’s skulls being blown off and their brains sliding out, of men who had their throats cut, blood pouring through their fingers, men who were run through with bayonets. He’d had to carry his best friend’s body home in a sack. A soldier hits father’s face with a sword blade. Tim aims a gun at his brother. Dead bodies are described. A girl is grabbed by the hair. A girl slaps a boy. A man is hit by a pistol repeatedly, has a black eye and a head injury. People are tarred and feathered. Men are shot. Cows are butchered. Many people are taken prisoner, including young boys and family members of the main character. Many of those taken prisoner die while incarcerated. Tim witnesses the massacre of a house full of “blacks.” They are shot, stabbed and a man he knew well is beheaded before his eyes. A man is bayonetted and takes 6 hours to die. A man is shot in half by a cannon with his entrails hanging out both the top and bottom of his body. Men are whipped or hung for desertion. There is a public execution that includes a hanging and a shooting. The shooting death does not go quickly, the man’s clothes catch fire and his body jerks around multiple times. He needs to be shot an additional time.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – As Father owns a tavern, there is a lot of drinking and beer, ale, wine, rum and liquor are all mentioned. Both Tim and Sam drink alcohol, sometimes to the point of being drunk. Mother drinks excessively at times.
Frightening or Intense Things – Despite the title, you never quite know when Sam will die, which results in a fair amount of tension. He’s alive when the book starts so you’re reading along anticipating this tragedy. There is also some tension as people are taken prisoner or go missing as you don’t know what the outcome will be. Also, it is an error to assume that Sam’s death will be the only tragedy. It’s a war book with a strong anti-war message. Expect a lot of sadness.
This is such a famous book and on a lot of school reading lists. I always wanted to teach a course using such books as this and Johnny Got His Gun and the like. Perhaps we do a disservice to our children by having them read only books with happy endings. In life, as in war happy endings are not to be expected. Hardships happen. Unhappiness happens. We need to learn to deal with it. And, most of all, we need to learn the real cost of war. An intelligent person might have figured this out already…