The War Within: A Novel of the Civil War

Carol Matas books tend to have an ideological or didactic purpose, and they are perfectly adequate middle grade fiction, but never brilliant as prose.

That being said, this one rather stunned me. I have nine years of Jewish day school in the United States under my belt; why did it take a middle grade novel by a Canadian to teach me that Jews were expelled from the Union-occupied Confederate states, by order of General Grant? Are American Jews so invested in the myth of a pro-Semitic United States (and particularly a pro-Semitic/ anti-slavery connection) that this is a particular stain on our nation's history that we don't teach our children?

To recap, for those who are playing along at home: during the United States Civil War, Jews were show more expelled from the *Union-controlled* Confederate states, in 1862, 145 years ago.

The novel framed by these real-life events tells the story of Hannah Green, a Southern lady-in-training, a Jewish girl who loves her southern home, who is ejected from her Mississippi home and forced to endure hardships while she learns to question her beliefs. As historical fiction, it's perfectly adequate -- and certainly serves to carry the unexpected and too-little studied history within. show less

I was a little disappointed with this book. I guess I expected stronger characters from Carol Matas and didn't feel any particular connection to Hannah, resulting in a lack of emphathy of her journey toward understanding the civil war and the greater issues of slavery and human worth. As to be expected with a book by Carol Matas, the historical context was well researched and provided a strong overview of a little known part of history which was the expulsion of Jews from Union controlled states by General Grant's Order #11. Still, I am not sure how I would use this book in my classroom. Perhaps, as an optional reading selection in the personal and philosophical context it supports. Still, I just don't know if grade 8's would enjoy it. show more That said, what didn't work for me may be a fantastic read for another. show less

After General Grant issues an order expelling all Jews from the territory under his control, teenaged Hannah Green, a Southern belle in the making, begins to question many of the values she took for granted, including slavery.

Author: Carol Matas
Title: The War Within
Illustrator: None
Publisher: Aladdin
Year: 2002
Pages: 160
Type: Historical Fiction
Summary: This book is about a little girl name Hannah who is Jewish, her family loses everything, and isn't aloud to go home because its a Confederate state, also she has trouble cause her sister falls in love with enemy.

I liked this book, because it told you what happened to a family during the war. How they lost everything and how it affected a young girl. I think that this for older elementary kids though.

I loved this book, it's for teenagers but I couldnt stop reading it, i read it in one day!

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