Red Moon at Sharpsburg (Hardcover)

by Rosemary Wells (Author) "At was my father who found Calvin Trimble's body lying against a stone wall on the Spreckle sisters' land..." (more)
Key Phrases: camp fever, Doctor Hooks, Aunt Divine, Captain Davis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 7 Up—One word describes 13-year-old India Moody—perseverance. She has heard of a college in Ohio that accepts women and is determined to go there, an unthinkable dream for a girl in 1862. She is tutored by her neighbor, Emory Trimble, an eccentric scientist who teaches her about biology and chemistry, and with whom she later forms a romantic relationship. When her father, an ambulance wagon driver for the Confederate Army, is missing in action, she sets off to find him, ending up in the middle of the Battle of Antietam, one of the bloodiest of the war. She faces danger as the Union Army advances toward her home in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and sees soldiers leave her town and not return. She witnesses Micah and Ester, slaves and friends of the Trimbles, harbor an injured Yankee soldier, putting their own lives in danger. Wells has created a sense of what the North and the South endured during the Civil War by interweaving stories from both sides, and gives a horrifying picture of medical practices and superstitions of the times. This powerful novel is unflinching in its depiction of war and the devastation it causes, yet shows the resilience and hope that can follow such a tragedy. India is a memorable, thoroughly believable character who faces many losses, yet readers are confident that she will follow her dream and attend Oberlin College.—Shannon Seglin, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Her school shuttered at the outbreak of the Civil War, India Moody, a 12-year-old Southerner, receives tutoring in natural sciences from progressive Emory Trimble, who encourages the smart, restless girl to aim for college. Soon enough, though, India must set aside her ambitions to shoulder the traditional burdens of women in wartime--nursing the wounded, comforting the grieving, stoically enduring even as her "heart tears down its middle seam." India's fierce hopes and restrained romance with Emory will hold readers, as will images etched by Wells' poetic, forceful writing, including unflinching scenes of the battlefield at Antietam, where bodies "blacken and bloat like sausages." An author's note and bibliographic note conclude, although neither address one unforgettable moment of magical realism in which green lights rise from the chests of dead soldiers: "Emerald stars . . . spill from the fallen men as far as a person can see." In a novel so clearly grounded in historical accuracy, readers will certainly wonder if this vivid scene has any factual basis. The overall impact of the novel is a potent call for peace and decency in any era, as well as a welcome representation of the Southern civilian experience for young adults. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (April 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670036382
• ISBN-13: 978-0670036387
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #679,617 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty Novel on the Civil War, November 27, 2007

By	Margaret Silver "teacher, parent, reader, edu... (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rosemary Wells has long been a favorite of mine from reading "Morris's Disappearing Bag" and "Stanley and Rhoda" to my now 27 and 25 year old sons to reading "Mary on Horseback" to my 7th grade class last year. Her newly published "Red Moon at Sharpsburg" is possibly her best work so far. Told from the point of view of a young Southern girl during the Civil War, it offers a realistic view of the affect this bloody war had on the lives of the people whose emotions go from total optimism that the South would win in less than 90 days to the realization that the Southern way of life has disappeared forever. The characters are three dimensional and neither side comes across as noble. Rather, all aspects of war are well developed and described in almost poetic if sometimes graphic terms. I highly recommend this novel to all readers grade 7 on up.
P.S. Teachers of US History might want to incorporate this into a unit on the Civil War.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Old times there are not forgotten, December 29, 2007

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As a child I wasn't a fan of historical fiction. Or, at least, I didn't think I was a fan. Truth be told I didn't read many titles in that genre (embarrassing Sunfire Romances aside) and it wasn't until I became a children's librarian that I realized how gaping this gap was in my personal knowledge. So I filled myself up with a host of delightful titles, at last coming to terms with this most elastic of children's books. I am now enough of a fan of historical fiction to know when it works and when it does not. Now as 2007 went on I started to hear more and more people talking up, "Red Moon Over Sharpsburg", by Rosemary Wells. It was low buzz, but sometimes low buzz is exactly the flavor of buzz that turns into awards and prizes later on down the road. Maybe this book was going to turn out to be some kind of surprise dark horse hit later in the year! I couldn't take the chance of not reading it, so it was plucked from my library's shelves and devoured on a long plane ride. Sadly, it is not the buzz-worthy little nugget of gold I had hoped for. Using familiar tropes, the book is oddly unemotional. Characters display odd inconsistencies, the narrative jumps about like a skittish colt, and in the end you feel much as you did when you started the book. This is not a story that encourages fondness or violent dislike. It is merely a mild book for a mild readership.

India Moody isn't your average Shenandoah Valley southern belle. Where other girls are learning their scriptures and embroidery, India's lightning quick mind craves science and natural mysteries. It's the start of the Civil War and when India's schoolteacher is shot in one of the early battles, she finds herself tutored by her godmother's son, Emory Trimble. Emory encourages India's love of the practical sciences, and is himself in search of the answers to curing diseases. War soon enters into India's life, however, with devastating results. Her father goes into battle, her mother's mind shatters, and India is left to discover her own path through right and wrong during a particularly difficult age.

The idea of the headstrong young woman who is ahead of her time, wanting to be more than just a future wife and mother, is a familiar children's literary trope. There are always new takes on the idea (My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier, by Lynda Durrant being one such example) but Wells takes a pretty standard route. India thinks things like, "Girls and women will live just a step up from a good hunting dog till the moon and sun change places in the sky," and about a corset, "It constructs the mind," without having been influenced by anyone or anything other than herself. It seems odd. Sadly, there is little humor to be found here, distinguishing Wells from writers like Karen Cushman or Jennifer L. Holm. Humor is never necessary, but in this particular case I think it works to the book's disadvantage. We need a little levity between these scenes of historically accurate devastation. It would give us a rapport with the heroine, something which is sadly lacking for the most part.

Ms. Wells is actually at her strongest when she utilizes the numerous facts and historical details at her fingertips. There are some great details that give the book the flavor of authenticity it so desperately needs. For example, there's a great moment when a minister's wife moves at a funeral from mourner to mourner. "She spots whoever is weeping, then she collects the tears from the eye in a tear vase," to give as a gift to the grieving mother. Sometimes these details mean having one character explain things to another when, in reality, would be unnecessary (as with Emmett talking to India about miasmas and ill-humours) but for the most part they're worked in seamlessly. Northern readers will find that the battle of Antietam could also be known as the battle of Sharpsburg and that in the hot Southern sun a body would, "turn black and bloat like sausage in the sun."

I also enjoyed some individual sentence here and there in the book. Things like, "Winter comes in early in 1862, as if it wants to make all of life one big November." But at the same time the entire enterprise has the feel of a book written in pieces and then put together in chronological order. There's a jumpiness to the scenes. They leap from one moment to another without smooth transitions. There's also the fact that India's critique of her beloved South is inconsistent. One minute she will discuss with someone how the South could lose the war and the next she's biting off someone else's head for stating a similar opinion. More disturbing that this, however, is the book's general lack of emotion. At no point during this tale was I inclined to cry. Even when beloved characters die or disappear, the reader is not sucked into the emotions of the tale. Playful romantic scenes are also delivered in a kind of narrative monotone. At one point India's bare ankle is grabbed and she is pulled down from her horse, but we never get a sense of how she feels. Wells is not a fan of adverbs. She is a straightforward writer but not, I'm afraid, one given to adequately conveying sentiment or feeling. The result is a cold fish of a book.

For a better take on a young woman during the Civil War and her father's devastating decision to go fight, consider Hearts of Stone by Kathleen Ernst. Though Ms. Wells is as historically accurate as any reader could possibly hope for, her book is sadly sapped of emotions and the tone is off. She is a fine writer but "Sharpsburg" is not her strongest work. Consider it oddly forgettable for a book filled with death and decay.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Civil War fiction for all ages, June 24, 2007

By	ME Brennan - See all my reviews

Rosemary Wells (Mary on Horseback and the Max and Yoko books) proves herself once again to be a giant in children's literature. Her new book delves into the Civil War. Set in the magnificent and fertile Shenandoah Valley, the war's impact on this place is mirrored in the main characters life. India Moody, the 12 year old heroine, observes all of the pain, suffering, loss, a complete change in her valley and in her life - all because of the war. India's personal drive to get an education, to be a scientist, adds another dimension to her story. This historical piece will be a welcome addition to any book shelf.