Customer Reviews

Juliet's Moon (Great Episodes)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ann Rinaldi's new book, Juliet's Moon, introduces the reader to several of the Civil War's less savory characters; William Clark Quantrill, Sue Mundy (aka Jerome Marcellus Clarke) and William "Bloody Bill" Anderson.
While it certainly is an interesting read and serves the purpose of introducing these rogues to the teen reading public, Juliet's Moon adds a sugar coating that tempers their true ferocity. These men were notorious murderers, responsible for hundreds of innocent deaths. Some of the upright boys that rode with them were Frank and Jesse James, and the Younger brothers. William Anderson, was known to possess a necklace with the scalps of Union soldiers attached. Ms. Rinaldi chooses to portray these guerillas as kindly southern gentlemen just doing what had to be done to protect their own. The "All's fair in love and war' philosophy.

The writing was spot on, as usual for a Rinaldi book. She has an uncanny knack of drawing her audience back in time and quietly passing on a history lesson as she goes. In that respect, this book is on the mark as well. However, by presenting the aforementioned characters in such a favorable light, she, perhaps, is doing the readers a disservice.

This Civil War story takes place in Missouri in 1863 and features a 12-year old heroine whose brother is part of Quantrill's Raiders, a renegade band of Confederate soldiers. Her adventures include being sent with other girls to a Yankee prison, killing a Yankee soldier (shades of Gone with the Wind), and being kidnapped by a half-crazy confederate soldier.
I thought this book painted a very positive picture of Quantrill's Raiders, who are portrayed as kindly Southern gentlemen, when they actually performed many atrocities. I was a bit surprised by this whitewashing, especially from this particular author, who generally writes excellent historical fiction.

I picked this book up at the library because, at first, I thought it was about Anastasia....of the Russian Romanov family. There is a photograph of Anastasia on the cover, but this is a book about the American Civil War! When I looked the book up, I noticed there is another edition of this book with a different, older girl/woman featured on the cover....anyone else notice this?

I thought the book was pretty good, though I agree that Quantrill's Raiders were sugar-coated a bit. I suppose how you see such people depends on what side you were on.

In her usual accessible style, Ann Rinaldi brings to life another chapter of U.S. history in Juliet's Moon. This time Ms. Rinaldi has chosen the Civil War, with her setting in Missouri among the families of the men of Quantrill's Raiders. The Raiders were notorious during the War, often leading strikes filled with death and destruction in retaliation for the Union's advances into the South. Ms. Rinaldi built her story around a real incident in which the female relatives of the Raiders were imprisoned in a house which tragically fell in on them, killing many and wounding many more. The main character of Juliet's Moon, Juliet Bradshaw, is fictional, yet her story is compelling as she tells of events surrounding the time through her thirteen year old eyes.

Ms. Rinaldi has a gift for bringing historical fiction to life, and she often chooses somewhat more obscure events to write about. This book is no exception; by inserting a fictional family into the mix, she is able to give us a glimpse of the terror and the sometimes surreal characters of the times. That said, I was a little disappointed in the lack of depth from this story; while I loved Juliet's spirit, it did seem as though the incident involved was compressed and Juliet's age kept her from being a more involved participant. Just increasing her age a little bit would have given her more insight into the happenings going on around her. I did enjoy the relationship between Juliet and her brother Seth, and felt Rinaldi did a credible job of showing Seth's conflicts. I just wish there had been more--more explanation, more drama, more depth. Still, Rinaldi's gift for writing historical fiction that brings the past alive for the young adult audience kept me turning the pages, though technically I would have given this one 3.5 stars.

Even though I got the feeling that this book was writen for people a little younger than me, it was well writen and I really enjoyed it. I want a brother like Seth!

This novel is set during the War Between the States era and focuses on a young girl and her trials and tribulations as her brother rides with some Confederate raiders. It has a wealth of information in it and is a nice easy read. My Mother and I both read it and enjoyed it immensely.