Customer Reviews

Last Silk Dress

5 star:		(105)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book when I was the same age as the heroine of this book, Susan, and I absolutely LOVED it!! I bought this book that it was just "another civil war story" but it turned out not to be like any other book I've read before, and certainly not like any other civil war book I've read. If someone told you the plot of "the last silk dress" you would at first think it was totally cliche, and it kind of is, but it still seperates itself from so many other books like it and that is what makes it truly great!! You learn so much about this book and it is at times very moving. Anyway, my advice is to read this book!!!! REally!!

First of all, I'll say that Susan is my favorite character Ann RInaldi has ever created. She has spunk, intelligence, and bravery, and she isn't like a lot of 19th century women who sat home sewing all day.

I loved this book and flew through it even though it was pretty long. This book, set in the Civil War-from the Southern point of view, is about a fourteen year old girl (that'd be Susan) and her disfunctional family. Her mom has a few screws loose and is really cruel, her older, dashing brother Lucien is the talk of the town because of the gambling house he owns, and her father has got some secrets of his own as well.

I loved this book because of its drama and fast pace. I recommend reading this book at least twice- it wa sbetter on the second time and I picked up clues that I'd missed before that unlocked some of the family's secrets.

The Last Silk Dress is my favorite book by Ann Rinaldi, which is saying quite a lot since I've read all of her books and loved them all. Unlike Rinaldi's later books, the main character, Susan Chilmark, is entirely fictitious, but I think she is Rinaldi's strongest character to date. Susan is headstrong from the very beginning, but she undergrows a radical change as the book goes on. Although, Susan was never the stereotypically innocent (or conniving) southern belle, she gains a genuine perspective on where her life should be headed and what she, individually should be fighting for. Then she must make a decision in order to face the consequences of her earlier actions (and when Susan makes a decision, she pulls out all the stops.) Mix in an abusive mother, a brother who was kicked out of the house, and the Yankee artist who sneaks through the rebel lines and you are left with a remarkably fresh perspective on the Civil War. Read it.

When I read this book about Susan Chilmark I felt as though I was standing beside her and helping her collect silk and meet her brother and even kiss Timothy. I was compelled to read more and was dragged into the story. The Last Silk Dress was the first book I had read by Ann Rinaldi. Since then I have read many others but none could compare to the first book I read. It got me interested in reading to the point where I devour every book I can get my hands on. I have recomended this book to all my friends and even my Grandmother and they have all loved it as much or nearly as much as I did.

I am an avid reader with a wide range of interests. I first read this book when I was about 12 years old. I read it a couple more times as a teenager and just came across it again about 10 years later. When I re-opened the book as an adult, I was pulled in just as dramatically as I had been the last three times I read it. "The Last Silk Dress" is the only book I've ever read more than once. It is riveting; truly the best juvenile fiction I have found. The heroine is one for all ages, facing life struggles that can be translated to today's situations.

Tug of War. It's a game where one team struggles with all its might to drag the other team to its side of the field. When two people begin to play "Tug of War" with your heart, a feeling of hopelessness surrounds you as your heart "stretches" between the two people before it snaps to one end. The power of The Last Silk Dress is so intense that Susan's thoughts seem to pull the reader in half as he/she wonders which way to turn. The Last Silk Dress provides an emotional story that will hold you within the binding of the book for hours to come. This historical fiction novel portrays the life of a fourteen-year-old girl named Susan, during the Civil War. It is filled with suspense that takes a turn down an unexpected path. Susan is a brave young Southerner, who feels that she must do something for the Cause in order to be accepted by her abusive, crazy mother. During the battles of war, Susan wonders, while confined in her home, about her long-lost brother, Lucien, who ran away from the family when she was so young. Under the most unusual circumstances, Susan meets up with her brother, who views the South as corrupt and evil. Susan is a daring young girl, who sets off on a mission to collect silk dresses so the South can make a hot air balloon to be used during war. Susan faces the loss of her father, a soldier who she had helped to heal, and her "second-brother," Kenneth, who all had to die for the South. Now, Susan isn't so sure the South has any purpose at all. Susan's dilemmas and losses bring so much emotion into the mind of the reader that there is no possible way to keep the tears from rolling down your face. This story is written with description that sends your mind into the past and puts you by the side of Susan Chilmark. This character is filled with bravery, humor, love, and confusion, all wrapped up to form one spunky teen who is always forgetting her manners. Ann Rindali, the author, portrays her as life-like as possible, and Susan seems to stand up and walk before your eyes. After the death of her father, Susan uncovers family secrets that are sure to chill the reader to the bone. She is no longer sure if her brother, who had become such an important part of her life, will accept her. Wonder and suspense fills the reader's mind with questions as the pages turn and the outcome is exposed. This is an unforgettable story that I highly recommend. Tears, laughter, anger, and fright will all fill your mind as you escape into this adventurous book. Romance between a Yankee and Susan, murder, and treason all unfold before your eyes, unexpectedly, as Susan decides if her heart is really with the South.

I love any historical fiction and when I read my first Ann Rinaldi, I've been reading her ever since! She's a wonderful author and I am trying to read all of her historical fiction titles. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction!!

I have read all of Ann Rinaldi's books (except for about 3) and this is by far the best one. This book is about Susan Dobson Chilmark, a true southern belle, who is itching to do ANYTHING to support the south. She ends up meeting her brother who was disowned, and realized just how corrupt the south is. I have noticed that in all of Ann Rinaldi's books that there is a dysfunctional family, and at the very end there is the promise of romance, and this book is no exception. But that certainly does not mean that if you've read one, you've read them all. Each book has a life of it's own and seems so real you have to stop yourself from wanting to write the character a letter or something. I would reccomend any of Ann Rinaldi's books, but this one especially.

The Last Silk Dress by Ann Rinaldi was a very enjoyable novel. The main character, Susan Chilmark, is a fourteen-year-old girl growing up in Richmond during the Civil War. Her father is off at war, and she lives with her crazy mother who often beats her. One day, Susan accidentally ends up meeting her older brother, Lucien, for the first time. Lucien had a terrible fight with his father before Susan was born, and he left his home. Lucien is very unpopular in Richmond because he doesn't believe in the Confederacy's cause and refuses to fight in the war. In my opinion, Lucien was right not to fight for a cause he didn't believe in. However, many people feel Lucien is a traitor, and Susan's mother forbids her to see him. Lucien and Susan meet secretly sometimes, and during one of these meetings Susan and Lucien discuss the hot air balloons the Yankees use to spy on confederate troops. At this point, Susan gets the idea to make a balloon for the confederacy using the silk dresses of women in Richmond. Lucien eventually agrees to help, and Susan is able to collect enough dresses for a balloon to be made. Susan was very clever to come up with the idea of making a balloon from silk dresses. Shortly after the balloon is made, Susan's father is killed in battle. Susan's mother then reveals many family secrets about Susan's father, Lucien, and the family's slave, Sallie. Susan becomes very upset upon hearing these secrets and runs away to live with Lucien. In my opinion, Susan made a good decision when she went to live with Lucien, because her mother was cruel and beat her. At Lucien's house Susan is introduced to a friend of her brother's who is a Yankee, and she falls in love with him. Then, Susan makes a crucial decision that changes her life. Susan significantly changed throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Susan was an innocent girl who believed very strongly in the Confederate cause. Later in the novel when she sees the number of lives the war has claimed, she isn't sure she completely believes in the cause anymore. She even becomes angry at the South for fighting in a war that caused many deaths. Susan matures and realizes that war isn't something to be taken lightly; it is very tragic and claims the lives of many people. As Susan transforms, the reader is able to see the war from her point of view.

This book is about a girl named Susan Dobson Chilmark, and her mother is abusive. Her dad can't win an argument with her mom and she has a long lost brother that is then discovered later in the book. She and her best friend weren't allowed to be friends anymore. Her family had a reputation of being troubled and very crazy.
To win back a good reputation, she volunteers to collect silk dresses for the making of a balloon.With the help of her brother she was able to collect dresses. It was very interesting how and where she gets her dresses. That is for you to read.
The better thing is that this is also a love story. How did Ann manage to throw in a love story in the middle of the chaos of the life of Susan Dobson Chilmark? It is remarkable, and the ending to it is the most triumphant, sweetest ending I could ever read. This is a very exciting story, and I could never put it down until I finished!