A Voice from the Border

by Pamela Smith Hill

Book Overview

Margaret Reeves O'Neill won't forget the day the Civil War came to her home in Springfield, Missouri. While she watches her neighbors turning against one another, she witnesses greed, looting,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082341356X
• ISBN13: 9780823413560
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 11 to 15 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 10

Customer Reviews

My review for this book

I liked this book because it has a good plot and it had a good problem. This book is set in Springfeild, Missouri in 1860-61.The main character is Reeves. She is suffering with the problem of her father is a confederate and she likes a Yankee. She is pressured both ways. It teaches that war is an ugly thing. I love this book except ater the climax is a little boring. All and all I give this book 8/10 or 4 stars. -McKenzie

A Voice From The Border

From the road out front came the hard, tromping sounds of men marching. Federal Volunteers and hundreds of German immigrants from St. Luis, perfectly in-step. I ran to the window and leaned out for a closer look. I never am tired of watching them.In Palma Smith Hill's A Voice From the Border, Margaret and Lucy experience hard times during the Civil War when their dad goes out to fight. One day she writes in her journal about this. She wants to fight also. Her dad set off to war in 1860. A few years later, Margaret visits her father. He is still alive. But one day something bad happens. She walks into her house and sees her daddy's boots lying on the floor. These are bad times for her. Something happy was missing from her life, her dad. This story is for girls and boys because there isn't much talk about girl stuff. There is a lot of dying in this book. I recommend this book for kids 11-18 because there is a couple of bad words and a little violence. In conclusion, I really recommend this book for children 11-18.

An interesting, romantic Civil War novel

While a lot of Civil War novels tend to focus on very well known battles or on the East coast, "A Voice From The Border" takes place in one of the most torn states during the war: Missouri, where Unionists and Secessionists battled each other and set up rival governments."A Voice From The Border" is about fifteen year old Reeves, whose father joins the Confederate side during the war. Reeves' neighbors are divided over the war, and even she is not entirely sure. Reeves' eleven year old sister, Lucy becomes friends with a staunchly pro-Union woman, Mrs. Brown, much to her family's distress. Reeves herself falls in love with Percy, a charming young Union officer.Reeves' story is interwoven with quotes from writers such as Keats, George Eliot and Shakespeare and military dispatches. While "A Voice From The Border" starts out a bit slow and confusing, it gets much better later on as Reeves struggles with an increasingly difficult life. The only thing that's regrettable is that the romance between Reeves and Percy never really develops, though that is for a purpose. It's a very different take on a popular subject.

Awesome

This book was Awesome. One night I read it and I cried the whole time. It was sad but good. I highly recomend this book. If you have the chance READ IT!

A Voice From the Border

It was a wonderful book. Even if you are not interested in the Civil War, you cannot put this down. It's a great book for all ages. It has both interesting historical facts and human-interest issues.