Like A River: A Civil War Novel

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 20, 2015

Review

A historical novel set in the last year of the Civil War. The story of two teenagers who enlist in the Northern Army and who both have secrets. Leander from Ohio is too young to be a soldier, but he enlists in an effort to prove to his family that he is a man; and Paul from West Virginia is really a girl, Polly, but enlists with her father so that they can stay together since they have no other family. The story starts with Leander as narrator. During his first skirmish, he ends up in a Southern hospital; Polly is there caring for her father, who is very ill. The descriptions of the medical conditions are vivid; one can almost smell the stench of human waste, disease, and despair in the room where Leander heals from his careless accident. Leander and Paul feel a connection and both come to care for one another. Leander accidentally discovers Polly’s secret, but before he can talk to her about it, she is gone. Leander is sent home and the story shifts to Polly’s perspective. Polly continues to guard her secret, but she is captured by Rebs and taken to Andersonville Prison (modeled on Fort Sumter), and fears that she will be exposed. Due to some careful maneuvering, strong survival skills, and the help of another soldier, she does keep it. The soldier turns out to be a character from Leander’s world, a fact known only to the reader. This is a little convenient, but Wiechman deftly introduces him and slowly reveals his identity so that it is a satisfying reveal to the reader. When Polly is finally released from Andersonville after over 200 agonizing days in which the reader is thoroughly educated about what it would have been like to be a POW during the Civil War, she makes her way to Ohio. She tries to travel aboard the ill-fated Sultana steamboat and narrowly escapes with her life. There is a happy ending, which is nice in a middle grade novel, and which was welcome after so much tragedy and hardship in the story. Wiechman clearly did her research before writing this novel, and the reader will learn much about the conditions experienced during the Civil War. The characters are likeable and relatable even as they experience hardships that our students today can’t imagine; Wiechman does not sugarcoat the suffering. The theme of change is wonderfully illustrated through the use of water (several rivers, a spring in the prison). There is an excellent Author’s Note in which she provides real photographs from the Civil War and additional information about the places and events mentioned in the book. An admirable first-effort by Wiechman. She will be an author to watch and I highly recommend this book for grades 6-9 though older students would appreciate it too.

Overall Book Score: excellent