War

WAR: *The Incident at Farmer's Station, by Tom Gnagey

Written for adults and older teens The story follows two likeable, able, 17-year-old boys - Jake and Luke - one Yank and one Reb, through their first several months as soldiers during the Civil War. War cannot be described without reference to violence of the most heinous kind, but the reader will find that is minimized here, the emphasis being on the youngsters' reactions to and evaluations of the complicated new people in their lives and the horrendous events they encounter and are forced to become a part of. Arriving on the scene from two different backgrounds, neither finds he was prepared for the harsh inhumanity they faced. Perplexing for both, a new, mandatory mantra - Kill or be Killed - replaced their life-long teaching - Love Thy Neighbor. The author points out that, "in war, soldiers are always killing the wrong people and to be a good soldier, one doesn't dare recognize that." As one might suspect, this is not a bedtime story!

The Upper Window Reviewers say: The author hits another homerun. Due to its unique perspective, in many ways [this book] eclipses any anti-war novel written in the past twenty-five years.