I almost died of laughter. ( )

I really enjoyed this middle-grade novel about the American Civil War, friendship, identity, and hormones. My 11yo is also reading it, and it is a perfect message for him. He loves learning about wars, but with all the stats and dates he's memorized, he tends to treat war like he does sports, much like Oliver does in this book. As Oliver learns to see a more complete picture of the Civil War, I hope my son does as well. ( )

Twelve-year-old Oliver Prichard is obsessed with the Civil War. He knows everything about it: the battles, the generals, every movement of the Union and Confederate Armies. So when the last assignment of seventh-grade history is a project on the Civil War, Oliver is over the moon—until he’s partnered with Ella Berry, the slacker girl with the messy hair who does nothing but stare out the window. And when Oliver finds out they have to research a random soldier named Private Raymond Stone who didn’t even fight in any battles before dying of some boring disease, Oliver knows he’s doomed.

But Ella turns out to be very different from what Oliver expected. As the partners film their documentary about Private Stone—with Oliver’s friend Kevin signing on as their head writing consultant—Oliver discovers that sometimes the most interesting things are hiding in uninteresting places.

This was a surprisingly good read. I know a number of kids who are civil war obsessed & would readily recommend this book to them - its a good portrayal of a kid seeing beyond what he thinks he knows ( )