Customer Reviews

My Vicksburg

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Thirteen-year-old Claire Louise Corbet, living in Vicksburg, Mississippi in the spring of 1863, struggles with the many changes the Civil War has brought to her family and her life. Her beloved older brother Landon, has joined the Union Army as a doctor, leaving the Corbet family with divided loyalties - they still love him, but support the Confederate cause. Her father, also a doctor, has joined the Confederate Army. And when Vicksburg comes under siege by the Union Army, Claire Louise, her little brother James, their mother, and their household servants must leave their comfortable house to live in a cave.

Soon after, Claire Louise finds her loyalties further divided. Her brother, whom she hasn't seen in many months, has returned to Vicksburg to care for wounded soldiers. He brings with him Robert, a wounded Confederate soldier. Landon confides in Claire Louise that Robert is a Confederate officer that was responsible for an order from General Lee that fell into Union hands, leading to a terrible Confederate defeat. Though Robert insists the order was lost accidentally, Landon feels compelled to turn him in. Now Claire Louise is forced to choose between her brother and helping Robert, which she feels is right in her heart.

I have loved most of the books I've read by Ann Rinaldi, so I really wanted to like this one as well. But in the end, I thought it was just okay, and nothing more. For starters, it was really at least a bit too short, and was missing a lot of backstory and explanation - why did Landon join the Union Army? Why was he so readily accepted back in Vicksburg after betraying his Confederate neighbors to help the enemy? The character of Claire Louise herself was inconsistent at times as well, sometimes acting very immature for her age and other times making adult decisions. My Vicksburg isn't a terrible book - it's a quick, pleasant enough read. Readers who already love Ann Rinaldi's books will likely find it an enjoyable enough way to spend a couple of hours. But for those readers looking for a really good novel about the Civil War, or who are new to this author's books, there are much better books out there, including several others about the Civil War by Ann Rinaldi herself that I thought were much better than this book.

During the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi, which lasts for 47 days, the Union Army with General Ulysses S. Grant lays siege to the town, while residents live in caves. Thirteen-year-old Claire Louise Corbett is the daughter of a strict doctor and Confederate officer, but is also the sister of a doctor and Union officer.

Life is confusing at best, as Claire Louise, her mother, her five-year-old brother and some servants begin living in a cave near her house. But it seems very far from her elegant Southern home with wallpaper sent from England. Understandably, there are moments when she cannot stand life in the cave. The shelling of the cannons stops for only three hours each day, and Claire Louise uses these opportunities to escape for walks and collect blackberries. During one of these trips, she comes across her Union brother Landon, along with his Confederate friend Robert.

Robert is ill, and Landon has been taking care of him. But Robert is wanted by both sides for his involvement in a previous battle. Claire Louise knows that Landon's honor will make him choose to turn Robert in, but is also aware that she is likely the only person who can help the young man escape with his life.

Claire Louise has always been close to Landon, helping him with patients and going to him when her father was too strict with her. She knows this will put her at odds with him, maybe forever. But in her eyes, Robert deserves a chance, and she determines to help him. For her and for Robert, it is a life and death decision.

She does what she feels she must do and faces harsh consequences as a result. The situation forces her to grow up, but it also helps her better understand her father and her older brother.

Award-winning author Ann Rinaldi brings readers right into the Civil War with her well-crafted historical setting and offers flawed but lovable characters. Claire Louise and Landon both make some mistakes in the midst of a terrible situation. Does she do the right thing? What happens after the war? Rinaldi invites readers to decide and predict for themselves in this compelling, dramatic tale from United States history.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio