An Island Far from Home (Adventures in Time)
Grade 4-7?A thought-provoking Civil War story involving a Yankee boy and a 14-year-old confederate soldier. Joshua Loring, 12, lives in Massachusetts and is adjusting to the death of his father, who was a doctor in the Union army. His uncle, Major Robert Pennington, is in charge of POWs on nearby George's Island. The man tells his nephew about a prisoner who is quite young, scared, and alone, and asks that he write to him. Joshua is appalled at the thought of writing to the enemy, and yet at the same time he is intrigued by the idea of learning about a Confederate soldier close to his age, and he decides to write one letter. But one letter leads to another, and their pen-pal relationship grows to a respectful friendship. Donahue has masterfully drawn the young characters; through their correspondence, they slowly reveal personal characteristics that contradict their stereotypical views of one another. In an exciting, climactic ending, and under dangerous circumstances, the boys finally meet. A page-turner full of emotional turmoil that's wonderful for discussion groups and extremely accessible to reluctant historical fiction readers.?Rita Soltan, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MICopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.