A Line in the Sand : The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence : Gonzales, Texas, 1836 (Dear America Series)
Grade 5-8-Thirteen-year-old Lucinda Lawrence recounts the story of the Texas Revolution, from September, 1835, to April, 1836. Important incidents, such as the "Runaway Scrape" and the Battle of San Jacinto, come to life with the girl's description of how these events affected her family. Carefully researched and historically accurate details add interest and give a clear picture of the many hardships and simple joys of early Texas farm life. Lucinda's diary also becomes a way for her to express the excitement of a teen crush, sadness over the deaths of family members, and disgust and disappointment over the horrors of war. Unfortunately, the narrative occasionally seems disjointed and lacks the transitional links that provide a smooth continuity from one diary entry to the next. Also, Lucinda's family often travels from one location to another, resulting in plot threads that don't always seem necessary. The title and cover are misleading; they imply that the book focuses on a girl's eyewitness experiences during the Alamo confrontation. That battle segment actually occurs late in the book, proportionally few pages are devoted to it, and the protagonist's only experience with it is hearing booming cannon fire as her family flees San Antonio. Still, this is a pleasurable story. An addendum summarizes the history of Texas from 1519 to 1847, and includes black-and-white reproductions.Phyllis Graves, Creekwood Middle School, King-Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.