An Acquaintance With Darkness [Paperback] by Ann Rinaldi

Emily Pigbush is an orphan. In the first few chapters of the book, she loses her mother, and her father is long gone from the war.She is left to live with her best friend Annie, the daughter of Mary Surratt.That night, there is a great outcry in the city of Washington, where Emily lives. Mr. Lincoln, the president, has been shot dead. Emily is even more stunned when she hears who had done it-- the man who had been staying with the Surratt's, John Wilkes Booth. The Surratts are thrust into investigation for connection to the murder. Emily is sent to stay with her rich uncle instead, Valentine. She gets along well there, until she uncovers a sinister secret from a woman staying in the house -- her uncle could be a bodysnatcher. She pursues the idea, quietly, until she is confronted at school by a reporter's daughter. Her fears are confirmed when she sees the proof with her own eyes. She loses herself in her own emotions; love for Robert, a man Valentine saved, hate for all of them. A very good illustration of the Civil War and the unjustly accused.

This book was an awesome book by Ann Rinaldi. This story takes place during the time right after Lincoln was assinated. A girl named Emily has a mother who is deadly ill. Her mother knew that she was about to die and she told Emily that she needed to live wih someone. Emily wants to live wiht her aunt in Philidelphia, but her om wants her to live with her good friend next door. Emily's uncle Valintine comes into town to see Emily's mother. Valintine tries to tell Emily that she needs to come live with him. emily's mother doesn't want Emily to go live with him. Emily decides to go visit her uncle. While she is there she meets an old crazy black lady that lives upstairs. She tells Emily that her uncle has a big secert and that Emily needs to help get the old lady out. Emily is told that the big seceret is in her uncle's shed where NO ONE is allowed. To find out the secert you have to read this awesome book!!!

This was one of my favorite Rinaldi books, out of all 12 that I've read. Emily Pigbush's mother dies in the beginning, and she has to choose between living with Annie Suratt, Mary Suratt's daughter, and her Uncle Valentine, a very good doctor. When she ends up unwillingly staying with her Uncle, she learns something terrible about him, that forces her to run away. When his assistant finds her and brings her home, Emily discovers that the crime her uncle commits is for the good of everyone. I don't want to give it away, but this book is fascinating, and I forgot to say that it is during the time of Lincoln's assassination. I would reccommend ALL of Rinaldi's books, even though I haven't read them all. I just know they're good anyways!

An Acquaintance with Darkness is a very well written novel. It's a novel of historical fiction and takes place right around Lincoln's assassination. The main character, Emily, tells the story. Emily's life is a mess, like most people during that time. Her dad just died in the Civil War. Her mother is dying, of 'failing' as they say. Her mother's death wish is for Emily's uncle, Uncle Valentine, to stay away from her once she dies. Emily's mother knows something about Uncle Valentine that she feels is not right, but Emily does not know what. After her mother passes away, Uncle Valentine, unknown to Emily, goes to court and gains full custody over her. Lincoln is assassinated and Washington is going insane. Anyone associated with Booth, Lincoln's killer, was arrested. Unfortunately Emily's best friend, Annie's, mother was of close association with Booth. Mrs. Mary, Annie's mother is arrested, in prison, and condemned to be hung. this only gives Emily more confusion, not to mention the fact that her secret crush, Annie's brother Johnny, has run away and has not been heard from, plus Emily is living with her uncle. At first this seemed a fine arrangement until Emily learns that there is more to her uncle's profession as a doctor. With the city in an uproar, Emily doesn't know what to do, where to go, who to talk to, or even who she can trust. Emily is left alone and confused. This is such a great, involved novel. Some of it is fictional, but much of the basis for the story is factual. The book is so good that you would have never known that it wasn't entirely true if you didn't read the Author's note.

Award winning author Ann Rinaldi has once again brought history to life in this engaging, captivating historical novel. It's 1865, the place is Washington, D.C. Emily Bransby Pigbush, a fourteen year old orphan, has come to live with her wealthy uncle. When President Lincoln is assasinated, her best friend's family is suspected of harboring the assasin. Her uncle forbids her to see her friend, drivng a rift between the two. And then Emily discovers that her uncle, a highly respected physician, is a body snatcher, robbing graves for bodies to study for medical purposes. Emily just can't accept what her uncle is doing. But as Emily begins to learns more about her uncle, she begins to realize that what her uncle is doing may be for the good of people. Her uncle's sole purpose is to learn more about the body so he can help develop cures, and he's only resorted to body snatching because he can't get corpses legally. Although the subject matter of this book may seem a bit gruesome at first, it's really an excellant, well written historical novel. Read it, or you're missing out on a great book!