Second Chance Summer

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Taylor Edwards returns with her family to the family cabin in the Poconos for what promises to be one last summer with her dad.  Her father has stage four pancreatic cancer and has just a few months to live.  She hasn't been to the cabin for 5 years and is afraid of facing her old best friend and boyfriend because of the way her relationships ended with them so long ago. The summer progresses and her father's health declines, but family relationships and old friendships are renewed.  The novel captures the internal conflict of Taylor as she deals with extreme sadness and happiness at the same time. Great summer read,especially for middle and high school girls.  



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The Horrors of Andersonville: Life and Death inside a Civil War Prison

The Horrors of Andersonville: Life and Death Inside a Civil War Prison by Catherine Gourley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Although some of the reviews recommended this book for those as young as 5th grade, I think it is more appropriate for 8th grade and above.  It is a little too text heavy for our younger readers today.  The book would be a great addition to a Civil War unit, however, even if only using some of the primary sources quoted in the book.  The story of Andersonville is a sad, sad story.  The book illustrates the terrible conditions found in the prison: men living in squalor, with not enough food to survive.  There is no doubt that they were treated poorly.  The prison was designed to house 10,000 Yankee prisoners, but ended up housing 32,000 during August of 1864.  That figure alone is an indication of the impossibility of meeting the needs of so many men.  Nearly 1/3 of the men confined to Andersonville died.  After the war ended, the North wanted to blame someone.  The one singled out for blame was Henry Wirz, who was put in charge of the prison in 1864. Although he pleaded for help for the prisoners many times, there was no help provided. Circumstances of the war in the South left little in the way of help to provide, so Wirz paid the price by being convicted and hanged.  Again, a sad, sad story that will enlighten students on this period of history.



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