This book is about the major character Emma Edmonds, a women disguised as a man to help the north in the civil war. Each job she gets brings new challenges and shows her strengths and weaknesses. She uses many disguises to complete her spy missions. She is a very round character because she changes a lot throughout the story. ( )

A girl Emma Edmonds who pretended to be a man so she could join the army. As she want a long in the army she went from being a nurse in the army to being a civil war spy. At the end of the book she had kids and died happy knowing she accomplished her goals.
Q.N.

Good story for young girls. Non-fiction. ( )

This is a very quick read even for the 9-12 year age group it is intended for. Never-the-less, it is a very exciting and interesting bit of true Civil War drama. It is the story of Sarah Emma Edmonds, or Emma Edmonds as she was known, a young woman, born in Canada, who, disguised as a man, became a solider, battlefield nurse, spy and detective for the Union army. Emma was sworn into the Union army as Private Franklin Thompson and served bravely and cunningly in many dangerous missions and in many disguises. She was also a devoted and skilled battlefield nurse and tended the wounded of both the Union and the Confederacy with compassion. Her career as a male soldier ended at Vicksburg when she became so ill with malaria that she had to go AWOL in order to escape detection as a female. Her adventures did not stop there. This book is sure to grab the interest of anyone who picks it up. It is not a great work of writing skill, being very episodic with little to link together the various elements of Emma's courageous life. The dialogue is fabricated, of course, and rather stilted, but the facts here are accurate and taken from Emma's memoirs and other historical documents. At least 400 women disguised as men fought for the North during the Civil War, but Emma's tale of espionage is perhaps the most thrilling. I highly recommend this book to young people as a wonderful introduction to the Civil War. Getting to know the people who fought this tragic and bloody war is a wonderful way to understand this astonishing chapter of American history. This book is definitely a page turner and so all the better for keeping interest high and fostering curiosity and discovery. ( )

Reit tells the true story of Civil War spy Emma Edmonds in this historical novel. Gripped by a passion to defend her adopted country, Emma disguises herself as a man and enlists in the Union army as field nurse Franklin Thompson. Soon, though, Emma feels that she can and should do more, and she volunteers for a string of dangerous spying missions into enemy territory.

The book reads more like a children’s biography than a novelization of the exciting life of this little-known historical figure, and that’s a shame. But it does relate some interesting stories about her missions and disguises, and the author does a good job of balancing Emma’s fervor for the Union with scenes that show the Confederate soldiers as men rather than monsters. It is strange and sad that Emma’s story is being lost to us, and this book will certainly awaken interest in the Civil War, and the roles women could and did play.

A good introduction, but I wonder if there’s a more substantial novelization of Emma’s life somewhere. It seems like it would make for an excellent story. ( )