Kathy Cannon Wiechman

A gripping, horrifying depiction of war. It's hard to talk about what makes this book special without spoiling it. Suffice it to say, if you can handle gruesome details of battlefields, injuries, deprivation, and atrocity, this book is a rewarding read. So much historical detail to take in.

The plot structure is interesting - the story abruptly changes partway through. I like it when a book surprises me and this one definitely did.

I'd probably suggest this for ages 11 and up. It really depends on how sensitive the reader is.… (mehr)

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Mediocre
Recommendation: Optional Purchase
Reading Level: Grades 4-7

Not on Fifth Street tells the story of the Great Flood of 1937 from the perspective of brothers Gus and Pete, who live on Fifth Street in Ironton, Ohio. Located on the Ohio River, the town of Ironton has experienced flooding before, but on this occasion, the flood waters reached places they never had before eventually reaching as far as Fifth Street. The book begins on New Years Day. Gus has invited Venus, a girl who he has fallen for, to have dinner with his family. During the dinner, Pete asks her some questions to make conversation, and it turns out that Venus’s family is not Catholic and that her mother is divorced. This is not OK with the parents, who tell Gus after Venus has gone home that he is not to see her anymore, and Gus blames Pete for asking all of those pesky questions. Days and days of rain and melting snow follow, and the river begins to rise. Dad takes Gus with him to help with the town’s effort to fill sandbags and prevent flooding and says that they may be gone for a few days and Pete should take care of things while they are away. This is unusual because Pete is usually the one to help their father with work outside and around the house, while Gus is more bookish and not used to that kind of work. It turns out both boys are met with challenges they could never have imagined as the river continues to rise and cause flooding all the way up on Fifth Street!

It makes sense that a novel set in 1937 would have a very old-timey feel to it, but this book almost feels like it was written in a bygone era. With expressions like, “That’s enough of your applesauce!” and “Go chase yourself,” readers will quickly get the sense that they are experiencing a different time period. This was a time when conveniences like telephones and electricity existed but couldn’t be relied upon like they are today, and most news was obtained on the radio or from the newspaper. Gender roles and stereotypes of the time period are also firmly entrenched to the point where adult women are less capable of making decisions than adolescent boys. Though I appreciated the author’s desire to set the scene in a way that was historically accurate, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and was especially annoyed by the incompetent women in the book. Though the rising flood waters should provide a sense of tension and urgency, the plot moves slowly especially in the first half of the book told from Pete’s perspective. The second half of the book, told from Gus’s point of view, provides a little more excitement, but I suspect many teen readers will put the book down before they get to that point. The brothers seem to be in their early teen years which would suggest a YA audience; however, the book reads more like a children’s or middle-grade novel. Even with the local connection, this would be a hard sell in my high school library.… (mehr)

This is a historical fiction novel set during the last two years of the Civil War.

Leander Jordan is a jealous and silly teenager who wants to be treated as a man. He feels that his family think of him as a young kid, so when his brother is unable to join the army and fight for the Union, Leander signs up. He doesn’t sign up because of his belief in the Union but to prove he’s a man. He’s follows emotion instead of intellect. His story is 134 pages long.

Paul Settles is introduced at the end of Leander’s section when he nurses Leander back to health so that he can go home. Paul is also taking care of his father, but he has a secret that Leander learns fairly quickly. Paul is really Polly. She’s hiding by being a girl. When her father dies, she joins the next troop and takes off only to end up in a Rebel prison camp, Andersonville, which is famous for how terrible it was. Her story takes the remaining 179 pages of the novel.

I found the summary inside the book to be very misleading. It implies they are together, which isn’t true. They meet briefly, but in reality, there are two stories of the atrocities of the Civil War. Leander’s growth to being a man is never explored--it’s only stated at the end, so apparently he changes his attitude and decides to grow up outside of the story we read. The quote throughout the novel “A body can do what a body wants to, if a body wants to hard enough” permeates the novel as the theme. Instead of complaining and saying, “I can’t,” this quote says that you can do whatever you set your mind to. The recurring metaphor is that of a river--ever changing. The end of the novel reveals the worst maritime disaster in US History and it isn’t the Titanic. It’s an informative, good novel.… (mehr)

Had it just been Leander's story I would've given the book only 2 stars. The first part of the book we follow Leander into the war. POV is a very distant third and other than wanting to be a man there is no real plot line. The author uses the setting - the American War - as the plot and that is disappointing.

The second half of the novel belongs to Polly, a girl posing as a boy in the war. Her story is better because it provides some excellent details of her struggles in the famed Andersonville prison camp. Polly remains stronger/healthier than her male counterparts because she drinks her water "boiled." Such methods of disinfecting were unknown during the war.

Lastly, I was disappointed about the ending. Not only was the reunion with Leander predictable, when they finally set eyes on each other, the story ends. I would've preferred a few paragraphs of reconnecting the two, maybe show Leander's POV again. How did he feel seeing Polly again against all odds?… (mehr)