Rinaldi incorporates an incredible amount of historical fact into her novel of a young girl living in Washington D.C. at the time of President Lincoln's assassination. Emily, our protagonist, claims Annie Surratt, daughter of the first woman ever hanged by the United States Government, as her best friend. Because of this, Emily is witness to some extremely important events in our nation's history, and Rinaldi employs this strategy to make these events come alive for a young reader. Never once does Emily's involvement in the action feel forced, as some historical novels tend to, and her presence at Mary Surratt's hanging seems neither inappropriate or extraneous.
Rinaldi has also managed to include a secondary plotline that is just as entertaining and informative. Emily's uncle, whom she lives with is a physician struggling to advance his field. In order to do this, he may or may not be engaging in illegal methods to procure cadavers for his medical school.
Emily is a very realistic protagonist, who is definitely a product of her upbringing and her era. There is quite a bit of the 'southern belle' in her character, but also a delightful amount of spunk. I wavered back and forth while reading this book about whether or not I liked her. I still am not sure, but I certainly got to know and understand her, as well as watch her learn and grow. Which is what a coming of age tale is all about. ( )

I LOVED this book!!! It is the kind of book that will capture you from the very
beginning! It is set in the time that President Abraham Lincoln was shot.
I would recommend this book to ALL my freinds. ( )

It was a great book about a teenager who's both parents died and is living with her uncle who has a great secret. Her friends's mother is said to have helped with the murder of Abraham Lincoln. ( )

Good, quick read. This book is a combination of actual events and a fictional story. The interesting part of it is that some of the historical facts are little known (for example, some of John WIlkes Booth's friends and their families) so you come out of the book actually learning something new about US history. I'd recommend this book to any high schooler (maybe middle schooler) who is currently studying US hisory Civil War era as well as anyone else who wants a quick, clever, historical fiction book. ( )