A Soldier's Secret - Little M's review

A Soldier's Secret by Marissa Moss

A Soldier's Secret - Marissa Moss

A Soldier's Secret is one of my favourites because it was based on a true story about Sarah Edmonds, a civil war hero in America in 1861. I don't know if this happened in the true story but this is what happened in the novel. Frank Thompson is a Union Army soldier in America. He is actually a she. Sarah Edmonds is actually Frank Thompson. Sarah hated being a woman because she just got bossed around and treated like a woman, instead of a person/man. So, she runs away and disguises herself as a man. She signs up for the army to help fight the American Civil War. She becomes Private Frank Thompson who is a mail carrier, spy and nurse for the army.

From drills to boggy marches, to blood, guts and gore (like amputations and maggots in wounds - ergh!), this story made me think about what it would have been like to be a part of the American Civil War.

I read this book quite slowly (for me - 2 weeks) because I had homework. But, I found that I enjoyed it more because the story stayed with me for longer.

I would recommend this book to people who are fans of war novels set in the nineteenth or twentieth century. If you are interested in books where women want to fight in a war, you might be interested in this novel. This book reminded me of a book called Scarlet because of the fact that a girl dresses up as a boy when they're not meant to do so.

I am happy to say that A Soldier's Secret by Marissa Moss has been nominated for the Amelia Bloomer award for young people's books that are about women striving  for equality.


Publication details:
Amulet, September 2012, New York, paperback, hardcover

This copy: uncorrected proof received for review from Abrams & Chronicle Books.