Juliet's Moon

Even though I got the feeling that this book was writen for people a little younger than me, it was well writen and I really enjoyed it. I want a brother like Seth!

This novel is set during the War Between the States era and focuses on a young girl and her trials and tribulations as her brother rides with some Confederate raiders. It has a wealth of information in it and is a nice easy read. My Mother and I both read it and enjoyed it immensely.

In her usual accessible style, Ann Rinaldi brings to life another chapter of U.S. history in Juliet's Moon. This time Ms. Rinaldi has chosen the Civil War, with her setting in Missouri among the families of the men of Quantrill's Raiders. The Raiders were notorious during the War, often leading strikes filled with death and destruction in retaliation for the Union's advances into the South. Ms. Rinaldi built her story around a real incident in which the female relatives of the Raiders were imprisoned in a house which tragically fell in on them, killing many and wounding many more. The main character of Juliet's Moon, Juliet Bradshaw, is fictional, yet her story is compelling as she tells of events surrounding the time through her thirteen year old eyes. Ms. Rinaldi has a gift for bringing historical fiction to life, and she often chooses somewhat more obscure events to write about. This book is no exception; by inserting a fictional family into the mix, she is able to give us a glimpse of the terror and the sometimes surreal characters of the times. That said, I was a little disappointed in the lack of depth from this story; while I loved Juliet's spirit, it did seem as though the incident involved was compressed and Juliet's age kept her from being a more involved participant. Just increasing her age a little bit would have given her more insight into the happenings going on around her. I did enjoy the relationship between Juliet and her brother Seth, and felt Rinaldi did a credible job of showing Seth's conflicts. I just wish there had been more--more explanation, more drama, more depth. Still, Rinaldi's gift for writing historical fiction that brings the past alive for the young adult audience kept me turning the pages, though technically I would have given this one 3.5 stars.