No Man's Land

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Men go to war to vanquish enemies. Boys go to war to vanquish childhood. This piercing novel conveys both concepts as it explores the Civil War through the eager eyes of a 14-year-old Georgia boy, Thrasher McGee. The only way Thrasher can prove to his father that he's tough enough to fight 'gators--and anything else--is to run away and sign up with the Confederate Okefinokee Rifles. At first, boredom threatens to bog down the company's morale; they're disappointed when they're too late for the big battle at Port Republic, Va. Then, Thrasher is astounded when he and the other young soldiers meet some Yankees in the woods who want to exchange coffee and play baseball between the fighting. But soon enough the war finds them: "Thousands of feet tramped. Thousands of tin cups clinked against thousands of cartridge belts. Ahead, the long columns of men wound as far as Thrasher could see.... Everywhere he looked he saw gray: gray morning mist, gray dust, gray men." Bartoletti (Growing Up in Coal Country) compellingly and carefully crafts her characters, especially the boys-turned-soldiers Thrasher, Baylor Frable and Tim LaFaye, building up their na ve camaraderie right to the moment they enter the terrible adult conflict. She spins a history as fresh as the day it happened, told through the eyes of a boy who is too willing to claim adult responsibilities, far too soon. Ages 10-14. (May) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

The ALAN Review - Anne Sherrill

To join the Confederate army at fourteen was to enlist as a drummer boy. Thrasher wants to prove his manhood, particularly to his father, so he lies about his age. After the newness wears off, he misses his family and his dog Chum. He even misses the alligators in the Georgia swamp where he lives. Adventure turns to horror as Thrasher and his comrades must endure blisters, hunger, and burying fallen soldiers. The author did extensive research on the Twenty Sixth Georgia Regiment in preparation for writing a book that captures the human side of the war from the view of a young soldier. Some girls disguised themselves to fight in the war as one does in this book. There were incidents of camaraderie among the Confederate and Union soldiers, also true in this novel. The selection is a memorable account in the best historical fiction tradition of one boy's loss of innocence. It is an ideal choice for the early adolescent male or female reader.

Children's Literature - Beverley Fahey

iscovered what the reader has known along, "there are some who are men at fourteen." Played out against the backdrop of the Civil War, this novel packed with action and introspection is a heartfelt coming-of-age story. The carnage of war, the brief friendships made, and the playful moments of lonely boys far from home are woven into a tight plot with careful writing that moves the gentle heart.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-8Thrasher, 14, is the oldest child in a large, poor family living in rural Georgia during the Civil War. When he is humiliated by his lack of courage during an alligator attack on his father, he decides to join the Confederate army to prove his mettle. Thrasher, like many young soldiers, enters the fighting looking for adventure and glory and has no concept of the political issues or grim realities. The dialect is genuine and the details of time and place are accurate. However, not all of war is action and excitement, and the story is often slow. There are interesting moments: a baseball game between some weary grays and blues who meet while caring for their dead; Thrashers discovery that one of his comrades is a young woman; the battle in which he finally faces his fear (and loses an arm); his return home to the family hes been missing and the father hes been dreading. But ethical realizations are painted thickly on a thin plot (When you were filling graves, the only difference between [the soldiers] was the color of their shirts beneath the blood). There are many Civil War stories that read more fluently, from Harold Keiths Rifles for Watie (HarperCollins, 1987) to novels by Carolyn Reeder and G. Clifton Wisler.Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

During the Civil War, 14-year-olds not only dreamed of going to war—they often did; Bartoletti (Dancing with Dziadziu, 1997) follows one young Georgia boy as he plunges into the adult world of battle. Thrasher Magee fears that he is a coward when he cannot make himself move to save his father from an alligator attack, and joins the Confederate army to prove himself. There he experiences the boredom, fun, drudgery, and gruesome realities of war. He also overcomes some prejudices: He hates Yankees and wants to kill them, but plays baseball with them in an area they all mark off as No Man's Land. He experiences death and bloodshed in battle, loses an arm, and sees Tim, a fellow soldier who is actually a girl in disguise, die. Bartoletti plunges readers into army camp life, drawing upon varied sources for historical details that invigorate the story. Her characterizations are apt and diverse, making real the terror and the exhilaration of soldiering in the Civil War. (bibliography) (Fiction. 10-14)