Girl in Blue

Determined to live her own life free of the controls of any man, Sara Louisa Wheelock disguises herself as a man and sets off from her home in Michigan to fight as a soldier in the Civil War.

Gr 6-9-Inspired by the war fever of 1861, and tired of her father's mistreatment, 15-year-old Sarah Wheelock determines to run away and join the Union forces to fight the Confederacy. The last straw comes when her father promises her hand in marriage to a man who is twice her age and has the manners of a bear. After she cuts her hair, changes clothes, and lowers her voice, Sarah has few problems passing as a boy: years of hard farm labor have toughened her physically, and she has a natural talent for impersonation. Soon, young Private "Neddy Compton" is on the road to Washington, DC, with the 2nd Michigan Infantry. Despite being a model enlisted "man," Sarah is unmasked, and is transferred into the Secret Service, part of Allan Pinkerton's network of spies. Her acting skills are tested in a new and dangerous disguise, as a servant to notorious Rose Greenhow and other Southern sympathizers who are being held under house arrest. Here, the young woman's patriotism, loyalty, and intelligence will be tested beyond anything she experienced as a soldier. While Sarah and the other characters lack depth, Rinaldi's novel offers an exciting plot based on solid historical research.-Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Rinaldi (Coffin Quilt; Wolf by the Ears) delivers another fast-paced Civil War adventure, this time about a Michigan girl who masquerades as a Union soldier and then becomes a Pinkerton spy. Readers will immediately like 16-year-old Sarah, introduced just as she is planning to shoot at the lecherous widower whom her abusive father intends for her to marry. Before long, Sarah has enlisted in the Second Michigan under the alias Neddy Compton. Rinaldi rather quickly describes Sarah's efforts to conceal her identity (she cuts her hair and avoids the latrine), and more exacting readers may also wonder how she hides menstruation and breasts. On the other hand, the rapid narrative doesn't leave the audience too much time to question Rinaldi's devices. Sarah works for a Union doctor, enters into battle and shoots her first Rebel, then carries out a dying man's poignant last request. When her secret is at last discovered, she is pressed into service as a spy and thrust undercover as a maid for a notorious Confederate socialite and spy. There Sarah craftily deduces how her Mata Hari mistress ferrets messages behind enemy lines, and there, too, Sarah falls in love with the rakish Lieutenant Sheldon, who may or may not be a traitor. The relationships between the characters do not seem as strong as the narrative claims, however; fortunately, Sarah's force of personality is enough to hold readers. Ages 9-14.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-8. Determined to leave her unhappy home in rural Michigan, Sarah disguises herself as a boy and joins the Union army. She serves in a hospital, then in combat, where she shoots a man and watches as his heart stop beating. Later, after her identity is revealed, she is invited to join the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Instructed to spy upon a spy, Rose Greenhow, Sarah joins the household as a maid and learns everything she can about the wily woman and her subterfuges. Based on research into the lives of Sarah Emma Edmonds, Rose Greenhow, and Allan Pinkerton, this first-person novel will engage readers through its sympathetic main character and exciting action. The story slows down a bit in the second half, and Sarah's love interest is not quite convincing. Still, readers will find Sarah an adventurous heroine and her story an involving one. Carolyn Phelan
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