Soldier Boy [Hardcover]

Brian Burks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 1997

This gripping historical novel set during the final years of the Indian Wars explores army life in the American West as it details one boy’s struggle to become a man.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9. When prizefighter Johnny McBane's life is threatened, he flees Chicago and joins the U.S. Cavalry, even though he is underage. The new recruit has never ridden a horse, nor fired a rifle; nevertheless, he acquits himself well during an unduly severe training period. Ultimately assigned to serve under the legendary Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Johnny harbors mixed emotions about the army's Indian policy and the impending confrontation with the Sioux. In a predictable climax, Johnny and the entire Seventh Cavalry fall at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Though this sober tale seems to illustrate the saying that "life is hard and then you die," Johnny's indomitable spirit adds an inspirational dimension. The plot is simplistic and the characterizations of military personnel are generally stereotypical, yet readers will care about Johnny and be saddened by his fate. The strongest feature of this easy-to-read novel is the realistic portrayal of a 19th-century cavalryman's harsh existence.?Pat Katka, formerly at San Diego Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-9. Johnny "The Kid" McBane is developing into one of the toughest boxers in 1870s Chicago, but when he refuses to throw a fight, he has to run for his life. After a recruiting officer tempts him with promises of steady food, good pay, and plenty of adventure, Johnny signs on to fight Indians, even though he's underage. As he proved in Runs With Horses (1995), Burks can write gripping, thoroughly researched historical fiction. Here, he mixes humor with the day-to-day detail of a soldier's life in a fort, and he shows his character maturing into a thoughtful man, more perceptive than his fellow soldiers. Although it seems Johnny's wisdom will be wasted (he joins Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn), Burks' neatly ambivalent ending may tempt readers to do some research of their own to find out whether Johnny could have survived. Susan Dove Lempke

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (May 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152012184
• ISBN-13: 978-0152012182
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,166,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soldier Boy was exciting and wonderfully written., September 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Soldier Boy (Paperback)

Soldier boy is the story of a boy named Johnny "The Kid" who joins the cavalry to get away from his manager and some thugs who are trying to kill him because he wouldn't throw a game. Johnny finds himself as a private in Custer's cavalry getting ready for the spring when they will go after the Sioux Indians in the Black Hills. Soon he will be fighting again, this time for his life. I liked Soldier Boy because it gives a personal and realistic view of what being a soldier in Custer's cavalry was like. Also you normally hear that Custer's men loved him, but in this book you learn that his men didn't like him. Soldier Boy gives an inside view of what being in the cavalry was like. It shows that it wasn't all gallantry and riding but it also included things like doing the dishes and playing pranks. Soldier Boy was a exciting and wonderfully written book. From the saloons to Custer's last stand, Soldier Boy is a great book for all ages.

3.0 out of 5 stars Army Life, June 3, 2007

By 

A. Luciano (Lowell, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soldier Boy (Hardcover)

In the late eighteen-hundreds, Johnny is about sixteen and orphaned, living in Chicago. He is a really good fighter, which works in his favor, getting him jobs as entertainment in bars. But then his manager tells him to lose a fight on purpose and he refuses. Now his life is at risk and he goes on the run.

By chance, Johnny ends up sitting at the counter of a cafe in St. Louis next to an army recruiter. The man says such good things about life in the army that Johnny lies about his age and joins up that very day. But army life isn't quite what he had imagined.

First he is confused and nobody will tell him what he is supposed to do or how he is supposed to act. When the older and more experienced men try to take his clothes, he gets into a fight and gets into trouble with his commanding officer. He is all set to desert the army and go on the run again when he is transferred out west to fight against the Indians with General Custer's band of men.

This book gave me a taste of what life was like in these times, and of how confusing joining the army would be for a kid like Johnny. I liked that Johnny acted his age and that he didn't really want to kill anyone, even though he had joined the army. I didn't like that Johnny brought up the issue of unfairness to Indians, but then just went along with killing them.

1.0 out of 5 stars OKAY UNTIL THE END, October 14, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Soldier Boy (Paperback)

In my opinion this book was quite boring. It is about a boy who is a prize fighter (fist fighting)in Chicago, who is forced to run away for his life. Then he finds himself in St. Louis. In St. Louis. He soon finds Army life is not all he heard it was. But eventually he is transfered to Cluster's army. He then is told about the Indians and how they are to go to the black hills in a month or so to battle. In the end it comes to a trajic ending. Over all in my appinion it is a well written book that has a horrible story behind it.