This would have been a good novel if it wasn't so very long. There were too many details of battles and troop movements for my interest and I found myself skimming over those frequent passages to get back to the "real" story of Annie and how she and her family were effected by those battles. ( )

Historical fiction, romance, war, history, family, Interest Level: Grade 9, GLE: 4.8, 2006.

Annie Sinclair's Virginia home is right in the line of fire between Confederate and Union troops. She works with her family to tend wounded soldiers, and she even acts as a spy for the Confederate Army. However, when she is forced to tend to a Union soldier who begins to question her motives and conscious she begins to wonder why they should be fighting this war. As the war rages on Annie becomes accused of shocking crimes and must decide where her loyalties lie: with her home or with the North. ( )

I liked how Annie was a stronge women who never gave up who she was and she was never ashamed to be who she was even though it was hard at times. I also liked how her and her mom help the sick even if it was the enemy. ( )

Full review can be found on my blog: decemberjoy.wordpress.com

Annie, Between the States is about a young Virginian girl whose world is interrupted and turned upside down by the war raging between the states. All the normality of her life vanishes when fighting soldiers invade her family’s home. Due to the brutality of the injuries, she finds herself aiding the wounded. At first she is appalled at what she sees, but as she tends to the injured she begins to see the human faces of those she opposed before. As the war drags on, and as Annie becomes more involved she begins to question Virginia’s reasoning. This is made more confusing by her older brother, Lawrence, who is fighting valiantly on the Confederate side. And her younger brother, Jamie, not knowing the true face of war, wants to be part of it as a Confederate soldier. Annie finds she is conflicted; she is seeing things differently than before, and while this conflict rages within her, it is through certain events that she finally discovers who she is and what she believes in.

I was drawn into the story quickly; the first paragraph being Annie’s first encounter with an injured, bleeding soldier. Reading about her awkwardness to this new experience captured my imagination and as I continued to read, I felt a part of Annie’s world. The storyline was constantly changing as Annie moved around Virginia; from her home to her Aunt’s to a friend’s, etc. Each new place brought new characters and incidents pertaining to the war.

I was also surprised to see that there was a softer since to this story. Since the book is about a young teenage girl, there were a few tangents that involve men and the romantic side of knowing them. I think there were about two or three suitors that vied for Annie’s affection. These were very PG, of course, since the storyline is in the early 1860’s. Just enough romance to balance the war aspect and to keep the teenage reader’s hormones appeased! ( )

Best book about Civil War history! It's one that makes you understand the point of view of the south whereas I feel like most of the books I have read about the Civil War focus on the north and how basd the south is. A really entertaining, though-provoking, and just all around great story. ( )