Charlotte's Story / Laura Benedict /317 pages

This novel takes place in Virginia in 1957.  Charlotte Bliss is a young housewife living with her husband, Press, and their two young children in the Bliss family home.  The story begins shortly after the death of Olivia, Press's mother.  Suddenly their two year old daughter dies in a tragic accident in their home and Charlotte was the only one home with the children at the time.  As she struggles with the guilt of her daughter's death, her "perfect" life begins to unravel and nothing is what she thought it to be.  There is a ghostly and paranormal element to the story with Charlotte and her mother-in-law, Olivia, as Aimee struggles to make sense of her life.

The Disagreement/Nick Taylor/360 pages

An engrossing novel about a young man who didn't fight in the American Civil War. Most Civil War novels seem to center around either soldiers during the Civil War or the women folk they left behind. But this novel covers men of soldier age who went to college instead and how the war affected them.

Synopsis 
John Muro is the son of a successful Virginia woolery owner. When Virginia joins its Southern counterparts in voting to secede from the union, Muro's life is changed forever. His father gifts him with the opportunity to study medicine at the University of Virginia. John goers through the passage rites of most young man -- love, social affairs, and studies -- cocooned at the university as the war rages on. But the impacts of the war are felt on John, his family, and friends as he works at a hospital where he saves the life of a Union officer and they become friends.  Eventually, the war envelopes the university and John is forced to make decisions that will forever impact his life.

Analysis
This is the author's debut novel and it is wonderful. Unlike too many Civil War novels with wooden stereotyped characters, Taylor's characters have real depth and become like personal acquaintances to the reader. The plot is written from the viewpoint of Muro as he looks backward on the events of his life. This allows the author to give context to many of the events that occur in the book that would otherwise be lost. While obviously historical fiction, the prose can also be considered literary. The book is an easy read with a plot line that flows nicely, but the strength of the novel is its poignant depiction of the emotions and inner workings of its characters. The wonders of young love are experienced by the reader just as poignantly as the shock of wartime injury and destruction. The novel also deals deftly with social issues of the time -- slavery, social class and gender relationships.

I recommend this book for all readers high school and up, especially those interested in the homefront during the Civil War. While pleasingly light on sexual content and gore, the subject matter in the book may still be too adult for many children younger than ninth grade. A nice addition to the Civil War fiction canon
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