Soldier Boy - Softcover

Burks, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0152012192 ISBN 13: 9780152012199

Publisher: Clarion Books, 1997

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Brian Burks' published works include Runs With Horses, Soldier Boy, and Wrango, which was awarded the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Fiction.
 

From Kirkus Reviews:

Johnny ``The Kid'' McBane, forced to flee from his crooked bare-knuckle boxing promoter in Chicago, enlists in the cavalry by lying about his age. After some initial hazing, he is posted to Custer's Seventh Cavalry at Fort Lincoln. There he makes a few friends, endures some pranks, and gets ready to move against the Indians in the spring. This exciting story from Burks (Runs With Horses, 1995) is marred: Readers who seize upon the introductory note's mention of ``thoroughly researched historical data'' will come away from the novel with the impression that army life of the period consisted mainly of vicious hazing and dangerous practical jokes and little in the way of training, duties in camp, barracks life, planning, or strategy. The ending is shockingly abrupt: The first Indian encounter and first battle occur only in the final three pages, and Johnny is killed in the last two paragraphs without firing a shot. It's a realistic ending, in a narrative not driven by realism; it may show how pointless war is, but it may also make readers feel as if they've been taken for a ride. (map, bibliography) (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0152012192
• ISBN 13: 9780152012199
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160