It has been a while since I've read these teenage horror stories but Ms. Smith's Daughters of Darkness has started me up again. I finally read the Hunter and I think it was a great book and now I am starting on the second one. I think Jenny was a dork to leave Julian, and on top of that, for Tom! Oh, well, that's life in an LJ Smith book. I also want to say her vampire diaries and secret circle and her night world series are also very good and should be read, too.

Julian, in my eyes, is the perfect guy. I didn't like him at first, until his sensitive side was shown. He's gorgeous on top of all of that. Tom seems to be a big, football playing, over-protective dork!!! If only Jenny had though twice and carved Julian's name back into the runestave and forgotten about Tommy. This book was excellent. It was the first L.J. Smith book that I have ever read and I loved it. After reading that I was immediatly hooked on L.J. Smith. I've read six of the Night World books and the 1st,2nd, and 4th of the Vampire Diaries. I LOVE L.J. SMITH!! I can't wait till she writes the continuation to The Forbidden game.END

Wow! Reading the reviews i was amazed! i didn't think before i'd read them that anyone else had fallen for a character in a book but oh my, Julian! wow he's just the perfect man, and i did imagine myself as Jenny. How great it would have been for a shadow man to cross over to earth just to get you to love him. I would have gone with him, it's like L J Smith's words had seduced the minds of the readers into this extrordinary fixation with this beautiful boy, Julian.
I absolutely loved the books to bits and sometimes when i'm out and i'll see something it reminds me of the book and i get this feeling and remember the fun i had readin them! So guyz, gals everyone. It doesn't cost an awful lot so why not buy it...you'll be surprised at how right us reviewers are about Julian!
thanks for reading

Wow! This book was amazing! I love how Lurlene McDaniel writesabout problems faced by teens. It helps me better understand whatothers are going through in the world. This book gave me a good idea of how powerful God's work is on earth. You feel like your life is blessed after reading this novel, whether ill or not, because you can believe that God is there for you always and that an angel is there to meet you at the end of the road. I learned alot about the Amish communities. I liked how the book was put together.It has romance, drama, miracles, and history all packed into one! One thing that people will probably notice is how easy it is for two worlds to overlap. The story was a page turner! I read it for 3 hours straight, finishing it in awe! A tear-jurker with inspiration! END

Lifted up by Angels is one of the best books I have ever read. It's one of those stories that's romantic, but isn't so mushy it makes you sick. Unlike most teen books, it actually relates to the real problems of today. It gives you an insight of how hard it is to have cancer, not dumb stuff like, "Omigosh! I have a huge zit before prom! My life is ending!" The story of Ethan and Leah also takes you into the world of the Amish. I've actually learned a lot about their culture from the book. Anyway, read it for yourself, only you can judge a book to your tastes. Also, were some of you people reading a different book called Angels Watching Over Me? The only reason Leah met Ethan is because Rebekah, Ethan's little sister, was Leah's roomate for her hospital stay when she got bitten by a brown recluse spider. Rebekah never had cancer and, as most of you know, never will. Pay attention when you read :)

I thought that this squeal was the best squeal i have read! McDaniel suprised me by even writting a squeal. I could not put this book done. She makes you feel as if you are one of the characters in the book. It's a sad book but all in the same it is Romantic. This is one book i could read 10 times and not be able to put it down. i think it is sad that Rebekah died in this one,but i guess Mcdaniel was showing her reader's (us) that life really isnt here forever so be with the ones you love and tell them what they mean to you before it's to late! I cant wait till Mcdaniel comes out with the 3rd book"When Angels close my eyes" I'll be waitting for it!! I recommend this book to anyone it is truley the best book i have read in a long while. If you havent read the first one get it and read it first it's "angle's watching over me" it is great too.This squeal was wonderfuly writting.

I absolutely loved this book. April and Mark proved that love is the strongest emotion ever. I think all guys in the world could learn something from Mark. He was persistent and never gave up when it came to April. Also what she did at the end totally said that she loved him with all her heart, it brought tears to my eyes. If you have the chance to read this book I suggest you take it. It's the best book Lurlene McDaniel ever wrote, this and the sequel.

This was the first book that I read by Lurlene McDaniel, and I picked it up totally by chance. But I am so glad I did. If you're reading this review right now, you probably know a little something about Lurlene McDaniel. First of all, her books are tearjerkers, there's no way around it. But they are extremly well written and make you feel almost every emotion known to man. And they are touching. So reader, you know Ms. McDaniel, and my advice to you is read this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you fall completely in love.

If you liked this book, try Don't Die My Love, Saving Jessica, The Girl Death Left Behind, all the One Last Wish books and The Legacy: Making Wishes Come True- all by Lurlene McDaniel

If you're a romantic teen like me, I suggest all of Julie Garwood's books Whitney, My Love; Paradise; Until You; Almost Heaven; Perfect by Judith McNaught The Heiress by Jude Devoraux All of Amanda Quick's (AKA Jane Ayne Krentz) books

Happy Readings :)

I really liked the book "Till Death Do Us Part" by Lurlene McDaniel. It was very emotional and touching. I really think its an award winning novel in the future. I love to read, and I'm sure I'll read this book again. After I read this book, I ran to the library to check out what happens next to April Lancaster in "For Better, For Worse, Forever"

I would recommend this book if you wish to find out the fates of Anne's children as adults, but don't expect it to be as enchanting as the rest of the Anne books. I felt that it was too sad and had a rather dark and unhappy air about it; none of the characters seemed really happy through any of it.

I felt that although this book was very well written and portrayed the effects of the war on Rilla and Prince Edward Island very well, it didn't quite reach the same caliber that the rest of the Anne books did.

I loved Anne and she is my favorite character in any book I've read. In "Rilla," however, Anne seemed completely erased. Montgomery persistantly referred to her as "Mother" or "Mrs. Blythe" and never really opened any window into Anne's feelings or reactions to the war. Susan, who is just the maid was more of a mother than Anne was, and I find that to be backwards. I also felt that the rest of the cast were really not involved enough at all, except those who had something to do with Rilla. For example, I would have liked to hear about the romances between Jem and Faith and Jerry and Nan with a little more detail. Furthermore, there were times I even forgot that Di, Una, Nan, and Shirley even existed. The entire book revolved far too much around Rilla, with not near enough emphasis on the minor characters, except Walter and Ken.

I did enjoy the transition between Rilla becoming a frivolous, vain girl to a responsible, mature woman and I respected her for the trials she was able to bear. However, I felt that she lacked the vivacity and other qualities that make a heroine memorable.

I have read all of the books in the Anne series and I must say that this is by far my favorite. Even though it is not so much about Anne as it is about her daughter it is interesting to read because Rilla is very much like her mother in some ways. I loved the parts with Rilla and Kenneth Ford because their families have history which caused for entertaining reading because it also tells how a girl feels when she likes a boy. The best but saddest part of the book was when Walter died (sorry to spoil it for you but if you read the other books you would remember something about "a white cross somewhere in France"). When I read Walter's letter to Rilla that she recieved after his death I cried. If you like to cry I would recommend this book, even if you don't I still recommend it and the other Anne books.

By far, I feel that this is my favorite of the Anne of Green Gables series. I truly loved this book. Rilla Blythe is, at the beginning of the story, a vain and naive young girl, but by the end of the book she seemed to blossom into a sensitive, unselfish young woman. She is strong despite the cruelty of the war and the loss of her beloved brother, Walter. When Walter died, L.M. Montgomery painted the feelings of the characters so vividly that I shed a few tears along with his family and friends and with the one young woman who loved him, but was too shy to let him know...and lost him "somewhere in France." I had learned to grow fond of Walter, and I was very sad to see him go. All in all, this book is a very heartwarming, loving, classic book that I found very enjoyable. In the preceeding 7 "Anne" books, the scenery and way of life on P.E.I seemed calm and perfect.....but in Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery lets us know that perfection can be spoiled and our lives could be waken up with a jolt, although at times not a very pleasant one. For anyone who is a fan of L.M. Montgomery and of Anne Shirley, her family and friends, I would recommend reading this book. It is a treasure.

This is the first of Anne McCaffrey's books that I've read. I was completely surprised and overjoyed when I discoverd how mant books she has written! I can't wait to read them ALL! As for this book, I've read it three times in a row, so far. I am totally captivated by PERN and it's story. As a music lover, I can understand how Menolly (the main character) feels. I love her firelizards, the Harper Hall, and all of her friends! This is a GREAT BOOK! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it! Anne McCaffrey does a superb job in making you feel what Menolly feels. It's sad, intriguing, and funny! Keep up the AWESOME work, Ms. McCaffrey!

Interesting to find out "Dragonsinger" is the fourth book in Anne McCaffrey's Pern series because I have always thought of it as the middle volume in the Harper Hall of Pern trilogy. In "Dragonsong" we met Menolly, my favorite character in the entire Pern universe. A musical prodigy who has been forbidden by her stern father to sing or play music, Menolly runs away and ends up impressing a clutch of nine fire lizards. But Masterharper Robinton has been searching high and low for her and having found her, brings Menolly to the Harper Hall. In "Dragonsinger" Menolly begins to learn her craft as an apprentice. The Harper Hall is not sure what to make of the island girl and her singing fire lizards, but Menolly is equally astounded by her new world. Menolly is one of the most enchanting heroines in fiction, mainly because the girl has not a clue in the world that she is so talented. After just about every test she is convinced she has failed, convinced that her only friend in the world is Piemur, another one of the young apprentices, and amazed that Robinton takes any interest in her at all. But it is Menolly's encounters with the other Masters, especially Jerint the instrument maker and Domick the composer, that stand out in this tale. Oh, and there is also Journeyman Sebell, who has also taken a special interest in her. "Dragonsinger" is a fitting conclusion to the story begun in "Dragonsong," and since the "next" volume in the trilogy, "Dragondrums," really focuses more on Piemur, this is really the climax to the story of Menolly. McCaffrey's conclusion is extremely satisfying and my only serious complaint about the Pern series after "Dragonsinger" is that Menolly has been reduced to a minor supporting character. One of the nice things about these books is that they are fairly self-contained, you do not have to read all the Pern books in order for them to make sense. I would think young girls who love music would especially enjoy reading these novels.

Ok, the Book Dragon singer was awesome. In the distant future, humans travel to a distant planet, that is like Earth. Here, to combat thread(an organism that eats any thing organic spontaneously)they develop an animal, Dragons. This book takes place several centurys after landing on the Planet, Pern. Menolly,the main character, has nine small dragons, that are her pets. she has a wonderfull talent in singing and playing music. this book is about her adventures in the craft hall of music.She has to work with mostly boys, and the girls that are at the craft hall, are jelous of her talents. She finds friends, and has some rather strange adventures. I strongly recomend you to read DRAGONS DAWN first, just because you get more of a feel for the senerio. I love the setting, and the way the author portrays the characters. The climax is also very awesome and belivable. and it's not boring, either. especially the way the charachters have all the qualities a real person has, fear, uncertainty, happiness, and etc. It's a great book,but a little bit slow paced. That, however, is not bad.

I haven't finished "Finding Fish" yet (I'm about three-quarters of the way through), but I was compelled to write this review anyway. I am an avid fan of memoirs, and "Finding Fish" is the most indescribably sad books I've ever read. Antwone Fisher's hardscrabble life, so lacking in the simple pleasures and creature comforts such as love and affection, is almost painful to read; as you turn the page you'll find yourself hoping that this will be the paragraph where his life begins to take a turn for the better. What you get instead is continuous accounts of cruel, heartless treatment which starts from the time Antwone is a toddler and last into his young adulthood.

Fisher recounts his life story with the same emotional detachment that must have been necessary for him to survive his childhood surroundings, but as you get further into the story you realize that he doesn't need to "dress up" is words. The power of his pain does not need embellishment. Be prepared to cry as you read this book, but also be prepared to feel joy for and pride in Fisher for struggling through, perserving, and ultimately finding success. This story will make you take stock of your own life and feel grateful.

Antwone Quenton Fisher was raised in foster homes ever since his birth in prison to a single mother. His father was shot and killed shortly before he was born in 1959. Fisher went to live with the Pickett family in Glenville, Ohio and that's when his horrible new life begins.

When he came to live with the new family he started to experience constant mental and physical abuse from both Reverend and Mrs. Pickett because of the things he was accused of doing, but didn't really do. He was allowed and got to see his biological mother sometimes as caseworkers analyze their relationship together. Fisher and Dwight, his foster brother, did not get along very well and they were constantly getting into fights.

After a long eleven and one half years, Mrs. Pickett sent Fisher back to child welfare because she was sick of his so-called negative behaviors. He then went to live at George Junior Republic, an all male reform school. While in reform school Antwone decided that he wanted to become either a photographer or an artist. When Antwone turned nineteen he enlisted in the Navy. There he excelled because of the strict rules he had to follow while living with Mrs. Pickett.

This book inspired me because even though it's an incredibly sad story, Fisher somehow survives all the torment. It seems amazing to me that he thinks of himself as fortunate and can see the good in people after being abused by so many. This intense story shows that you can overcome many difficult obstacles and still have a positive attitude.

"Finding Fish" is the unforgettable autobiography of Antwone Quenton Fisher, who triumphed from the perils of being abandoned by his mother, followed by years of unbelievably excessive and unwarranted child abuse.

Skillfully crafted with lifelike imagery, Antwone Fisher shares an "untold story" revealing all the horrors, challenges and complexities he encountered as an unwanted foster child. A haunting tale that would have broken the spirit of a lesser man, "Finding Fish" is compelling, suspenseful, imaginative and sometimes chilling, but is robust with intrigue and unpredictable humor.

If you liked the screen adaptation of this sensational novel......"The Antwone Fisher Story"... heralded as "The Emotional Event of the Year", you will absolutely love "Finding Fish"!

Written with great courage and startling compassion, "Finding Fish" stretches the imagination and often compels the reader to sit up, take notice and ponder about aspects of his or her own childhood, long after putting the novel down. Brilliantly cinematic, the three-dimensional characters come to life in a manner that engages every aspect of your emotions. "Finding Fish" explores with passion and intensity a beautiful story that no reader will be able to resist. This is exceptional storytelling that is not undermined by predicting what will happen next.

A definite must read!

Once again, Sarah Dessen brings to life wonderfully vivid and imaginative characters. Dreamland will make you laugh, cry, and wish you could keep on reading Caitlin O'Koren's story. Caitlin has always felt like she was in her "perfect" older sister's shadows until her sister runs away. Suddenly Caitlin's life has changed, not only because of her sister, but because of her new boyfriend, Rogerson Biscoe. It is the story of an abusive adolescent relationship and the story of the search for one's self. Dreamland teaches you the importance of loving and caring for yourself and also teaches you that each and every person is important no matter what. A must read for teenage girls. This book made me take a really good look at my life and what I wanted out of it.

With a blend of love, hatred, loss and renewal the book Dreamland is told.
On Caitlin O'Koren's sixteenth birthday, her sister Cass was gone, a runaway. Caitlin's older sister was perfect it seemed and she was on her way to Yale. Caitlin's family cannot understand why Cass left. Caitlin has always been in her sister's shadow and is also shocked. Sad and alone, she only has her best friend Rina and her family-although her family is busy trying to win Cass back and Rina is busy with her own life. Then Caitlin meets dangerous and mysterious Rogerson, an abused teenager who takes Caitlin in and loves her like no other. Then, though, as they grow closer, Rogerson starts to beat Caitlin.
Will Caitlin ever get out of this abusive relationship? Will her sister return home? So many questions keep you rivited until the conlusion where you beg for more.
I loved this book. This book is wonderful and thought-provoking. Everyone always thinks they'd have the sense to get out of a abusive relationship, but this book asks you the ultimate question that everyone tries to forget-What if the person you loved the most was the person hurting you?

This book was incredible! My best friend told me to read, DREAMLAND, which i did. Caitlin & the other characters seemed so real to me that I sometimes forgot that it was just a story. I couldn't stop reading, until i was: A) tired or B) finished completely. It took me 4 days to read Dreamland, yet it seemed like a forever. I became very attached to Caitlin, Cass, Corinna, Boo, & even though i'd hate to admit it -- Rogerson, too. Whenever Caitlin was about to get hit or punched or even kicked i'd have a huge knot grow inside my stomach. As if I, too, felt some of her pain, even though that's impossible. I fell that I somewhat relate to Caitlin, but not in as many ways as you'd think. I, too, feel like I'm living in a Dreamland. Each day slips away, like it were a dream made up by my very own imagination. A part of me wished that Caitlin would've told everything to her photography teacher, Matthew, when he pointed out something about her picture of Rogerson:

Matthew nodded, his eyes still on the photograph. "It looks," he said in a lower vioce, just to me, "like you know him a little better than he'd like you to."(pg 152)

I wished & wished after he said it that Caitlin would somehow fall for him, yet she never did. I believe that Rogerson jumps to conclusions way to fast & is very impatient, I could never be his girlfriend, ha! Oh there's so much I'd like to say about DREAMLAND, but I'd give the whole story away & I'd hate 2 do that! All i can say is that the ending is incredible. Sarah Dessen leads the reader through a story that teaches Caitlin, that sometimes the ones we love the most, hurt us the worst.

*No one can explain life, therefore it is a mystery.*

Although Christopher Pike is my #1 writer, I do find this book just as good as his own. I'm even inspired that Sarah could write something like this, so real, so passionate, so sad. I've read one other book, this summer, besides Dreamland that's made me very emotional & grown attached to the characters. The other book was The Last Vampire Series, by Pike. They both made me very teary & even happy at times. Each of the authors actually let you fell what the girls themselves fell,{Caitlin & Sita)as if you were them. The 2 writers are an inspriation, both to me & millions of other young adults in the world. I truly think if your a teenage girl you should read this & FAST, you'll learn a whole lot about life if you do. I hope Sarah can write more incredible novels like DREAMLAND, where dreams arent just real, they are lived...does that make sense? maybe it doesn't, but it sounds right, to me at least. I maybe confusing you, but everything can become confusing if you dont take the time to understand it. Well I do hope you take my "wonderful" advice & read Dreamland in your near future. Trust me, you'll thank me when you're through reading it! ;)

In this book 13-year-old Dawn Rochelle is diagnosed with leukemia. For three months she has to deal with the pain or chemotherapy and it's side affects. She is treated like she isn't even there by her friends. But through these pains she also meets Sandy, her roommate, who is also a 13-year-old diagnosed with leukemia. Together the girls become best friends, and make memories, good and bad. Finally, both Dawn and Sandy are in remission. They go to a cancer camp and both of them have a wonderful time; meet the guys of their dreams but when Dawn returns home, she gets terrible news that Sandy has had a relapse. Her to a hospital in Mexico, where the hospitals do not use the chemotherapy treatment. Which resulted in a tragic death for Sandy. Everyone was very sad even Dawn, she didnt know how to take it she had just lost one of her best friends. What if that was your best friend? What would you do? I recommend this book to people above the age of 10, and not just girls, guys too.

Lurlene McDaniel's book, Six Months to Live, is one of the best books I have ever read about dealing with the diagnosis of leukemia.

McDaniel did a wonderful job expressing the feelings of the main character, Dawn Rochelle. It was easy for me to relate to Dawn because she is in my age group. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was 13. The setting is in a rural area. The overall writing was easy to read and made you feel like you were a part of Dawn's life. She was a strong willed person who was not going to give into her disease.

The plot of the book is about teenage girl fighting for her life through an irreversible disease. Dawn went through tough times and eventually was dismissed from the hospital. In the summer, Dawn went to a cancer camp. Kids with all types of cancer attended the camp and had two-weeks of games and fun. The camp helped her forget her problems and have a good time. The camp interested me because the writer made it sound so beautiful and perfect.

The main lesson of Six Months to Live is that in order to overcome hard times, you need to work hard and have faith in yourself. Dawn was not willing to give into her problems and give up in the fight for life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good source of inspiration.

In this book, 13-year-old Dawn Rochelle is diagnosed with lukemia. For three months she has to deal with the pain of chemotherapy and it's side affects, and being treated like she is a walking germ by what she thought were her friends. But through these pains she also meets Sandy, her roomate, who is also a 13-year-old diagnosed with lukemia. Together the girls become best friends, and make memories, good and bad. Finally, both Dawn and Sandy are in remission, and they go to cancer camp, a camp that is made for teens with cancer. They have a wonderful time, but when Dawn returns home, she gets terrible news that Sandy has had a relapse. She has been taken to a hospital in Mexico, where the hospitals do not use the chemotherapy treatment. The result of this is the tragic death of Sandy. A truly heart-warming, tear-jerking book that will thrill anyone of all ages. -Mary Elizabeth Baleha

Do you adore British wit? True English eccentrics? The REAL story behind Great Writers? Books that make you laugh out loud again and again? This is a warm autobiographical remembrance by famed Zoo-Keeper Gerald Durrell, of the years in his childhood in the 1930s when the entire family took off on a whim to live in the Island of Corfu, Greece. It is quite simply such a wonderful -- fun -- read that it promptly went to the best-sellers lists round the world when it was first published more than 35 years ago. Which enabled Gerrald to realize his life-long dream of building his own zoo for endangered species -- and annoyed the daylights out of his very SERIOUS novelist and writer older Brother, the award-winning Lawrence Durrell. (Poor Larry, not only to be beat at your own game by a kid brother who doesn't even care about writing, but to have the follys of your own early 20s exposed to the literate world just when you hoped to be taken seriously by everybody!) Read this book. Buy this book! I guarantee you'll find yourself laughing out loud uproariously and then you'll rush out to buy extra copies for all your friends!

I cannot remember when I enjoyed reading a book so much as this one. It is about the five years the author (Lawrence Durrell's younger brother) spent living on the island of Corfu as a youngster and budding naturalist. It is full of anecdotes about collecting animals and about the family that delight the heart and tickle the funnybone. His collection of animals includes snakes, birds, furry things. There is a collection of dogs with peculiar names. Theodore Stephanides, a real life person, a doctor who helps Gerald organize his collection in more or less scientific fashion, figures in some of Lawrence Durrell's writings. He was apparently a wonderful and possibly brilliant person. Concerned over the young boy's education, or lack of it, his mother sends him a few times a week to the Belgian consul, who tries to teach him French by reading out of the dictionary, starting with ''A''. Of course he learns no French. The consul spends most of the lesson time shooting mangy cats on neighboring roofs. This is not an act of cruelty: the town is overpopulated by cats and they are mostly ill and dying and spreading disease. Then Mother sends him to a British person with a Slavic surname for lessons in just about everything. This strange looking man has a collection of rare birds and a mother who never leaves her bed but has wonderful fantasies about her own lost beauty. Older brother Lawrence is, of course, a writer still learning his craft. Leslie is the gun expert who builds the youngster a strange boat for use in collecting marine specimens. Margo is the sister who cares for little in life but how she looks in a bathing suit. Spiro is a hefty Greek with a big belly who drives the family around in his car and helps them in unexpected ways, even getting them out of innocent scrapes with police and customs officials. The mother is a marvelously sensible English lady who behaves very properly and cooks up a storm, almost constantly. The author's language and style are elegant, and one gets the sense of looking at the world through the wondering eyes of a young boy, but always with the idea that behind him there is the mature and accomplished writer. Yes, reading this one again next week would not be a bad idea.

Gerald Durrell recounts his childhood in Greece. His very British, highly eccentric family - and his love of nature - blend in unexpected ways. By turn hilarious and poignant, the book draws sharp character sketches of the author's relatives (including his equally famous brother, the author Lawrence Durrell). Sharing the spotlight are the fascinating flora and fauna young Gerald stumbles across on his island. Even if you thought you couldn't stand Biology as a student in school, Durrell's descriptions are so beautifully written, each discovery so exquisitely etched that you cannot but wonder at the beauty of Nature - and the amazing gift of prose that Durrell, a naturalist by profession, brings to this unforgettable book. It makes you thirst for more of the same, and happily for us, Durrell has written several books.. worthy sequels to this tour de force.

Have you ever wondered about what life was like for a young teenager growing up in the Union Army during the Civil War? If so, then Harold Keith's book, Rifles For Watie, is the book for you. It follows th journey of a teenager named Jeff, who, in his youthful enthusiasm, joins the Union Army during the Civil War. On this journey he meets friends, makes enemies, and falls in love. He is surprised by the ferocity of the fighting and finds no glory in the victory. This book would be good for teens to young adults.
Rifles For Watie is organized in an easy to read, orderly fashion. There are no jumps from here to there to confuse you. There are however, periods of time with little or no action. An example is, "We stayed in the fort for 3 whole months waiting to get into action." The author also gives you side information about the war as a whole, which will help you keep your bearings on the years.
The age group that I think would get the maximum effectiveness
from enjoying this book would be young adults or people interested in the life of a soldier. The vocabulary is easy to read but the fact that Keith puts in the Kansas accents and spellings might make it slightly harder to read for some. The author also deals with subjects akin to young adults, changing emotions, questioned ideals, and loss.
The amount of emotion in this book is astounding. The author weaves in how Jeff feels and thinks. He describes in detail his thoughts using fear, suspense, and longing, among them. He uses Jeff's emotions by telling how flustered he gets when he met Lucy, a young Rebel teenager his age.
Rifles For Watie is a "must read" for young adults teens and people who like war novels.

I was somewhat skeptical of reading "Rifles for Watie" when I saw that it was originally written in the '50's, believing that any book that old must be sappy and cheap. I was certainly suprised! This book ranks very high in my favorite books.

Jeff Bussey, a teenage Kansas boy, decides that he wants to join the Union army, especially after southern bushwackers come near his family's home. Jeff is sure that fighting the Confederates will be a great adventure for he and his friends, but he is soon suprised - when he sees the results of terrible battles, he begins to doubt the honor and excitement of war. When Jeff falls in love with a spirited Cherokee-Confederate girl, and also when he gets involved with some other Confederates, he learns that the other armies are just made up of boys like him, who fiercly honor their country.

This was an excellent, exciting, interesting, and, at the same time, educational young adult novel on the Civil War, and I'd definitely recommend it for ages 12 and up! You may also enjoy "The Journal of James Edmund Pease", "The Boys' War", and "Soldier's Heart", also on the Civil War, and, on the also intriguing Revolutionary War, the book "Johnny Tremain" and the wonderful movie "The Patriot.

I first discovered this book when my school librarian aunt brought home a copy one summer to preview. It become probably my favorite library book from 4th to 12th grade. I probably checked it out 20+ times.

"Rifles.." recounts the adventures of Jeff Bussey during the western campaigns of the Civil War in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri. It tells of friendships on both sides of the war. His love of the rebel girl Lucy, his friend Noah the tramp printer and the life of a common Union soldier and a Rebel Cavalryman. The book recounts battles and the small world within them that a soldier plays, often missing the large results that are defined with the outcome. It tells of courage, and fear and determination as Jeff is pursued for miles in his daring escape from the Confederate army.

This book you must include in your home library. I still pick up my copy and read it again, still as enjoyable as the first time back in Idaho.