Horn Book Review
This well-paced story features a seamless combination of history, sociology, drama, and romance. When Amelia's father takes a position as an assistant lighthouse keeper on an island near the Delaware coast, the fifteen-year-old discovers her own life's work, and love, as she watches her parents' marriage, and her beloved country, fall apart. Included are an author's note, an essay about the era, and period photographs. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this new addition to the Dear America series, life in 1919 is peaceful and happy for Nellie Lee Love and her family in the little town of Bradford Corners, Tennessee. Not much happens; about the only excitement is the occasional letter from Nellie's Uncle Pace, still a soldier in France. The arrival each month of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis, is the only communication southern blacks have with the larger black community, and Daddy Love faithfully picks it up at his barbershop, reading it cover to cover. Then one day, the town's sheriff confiscates the shop's copies of The Crisis, and warns the men there that anyone belonging to the NAACP is asking for trouble from the Ku Klux Klan. A wire comes announcing that Uncle Pace is coming home. But when he does, he's been badly injured. As the sheriff tells it, he got drunk and fell asleep on the railroad tracks, where he was hit by a train. Everyone knows that Pace did not drink at all. He dies, and Daddy, realizing that this suspicious death has probably been the work of the Klan, decides to protect his family by moving them to Chicago. Here he hopes to set up a new undertaking business. Life in the city is far different for the Love girls from what they thought it would be. They must adapt to crowded apartment living, new neighbors, a tough new school, and making new friends, none of which is easy. But these discomforts are nothing to compare with the race riot that occurs that summer. The Loves get through it unscathed, but with the realization that they did not leave the problems of racism behind when they left Tennessee. It is this knowledge that gives Nellie and the rest of the Loves the impetus to become actively involved in the fight against prejudice and to begin the long march to full equality as Americans. It's an inspiring story, and one that brings to life the great black migration of that era from the south to the cities of the north. This part of American history is too often glossed over in textbooks, but must be understood in the context of modern race relations. (Fiction. 11-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4^-7. This addition to the Dear America series chronicles the life of Amelia Martin, the 15-year-old daughter of a Delaware lighthouse keeper, through the year 1861 as her family and the country become embroiled in the Civil War. Amelia's home life is a microcosm of national issues: she and her father favor the abolitionist cause; her mother and grandmother support slavery. Life on Fenwick Island is a further source of conflict. Amelia and Mr. Martin love their duties protecting seafaring vessels and their passengers, but the constant humidity and sea spray aggravate Mrs. Martin's arthritis, sending her into a spiraling depression. Hesse's writing shines, as always, but the story line takes a back seat to setting and historical background. Characters seem to exist as a means of furthering a particular viewpoint rather than as multidimensional human beings. Nevertheless, Amelia is a plucky young woman who will appeal to middle-grade readers, especially fans of this series. --Kay Weisman
Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-This diary chronicles 15-year-old Amelia Martin's chaotic life during the turbulent first year of the Civil War. Amelia's father is the assistant lighthouse keeper at Fenwick Island off the coast of southern Delaware. Amelia willingly shares in the duties of standing watch and maintaining the equipment. Through her diary, readers learn that her father sides with the Union while her mother favors the Confederacy, and that their marriage is crumbling just as the country threatens to divide. Amelia admits that while at one time she agreed with her mother's views, she now believes in the abolition of slavery and sympathizes with President Lincoln. When a friend drowns in a skating accident, Amelia becomes friendly with his brother, Daniel, and soon develops a romantic relationship that continues to grow after Daniel volunteers for the Union Army. In the style of light keepers' logs, each entry records the date, weather, and wind conditions. An appended historical note offers more information about the Civil War. Sure to please historical fiction fans as well as followers of the series.-Shawn Brommer, Southern Tier Library System, Painted Post, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
