- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Scribner (Aug 11 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1416598391
- ISBN-13: 978-1416598398
- Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16 x 2.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 458 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #889,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Meet eleven-year-old Katherine McConnell, a whip-smart and enchanting heroine whose imaginary life as a Civil War general helps her navigate her family's own troubled history and the unpredictable battlefield of adolescence. Gable's rendering of Kat is note-perfect, and she spins her journey with a deft mix of humor and pathos. The Confederate General Rides North is vibrant, bighearted, and wholly original. I love this book and can't recommend it loudly enough." -- Joshilyn Jackson , bestselling author of Gods in Alabama and The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
"The Confederate General Rides North is the compelling story of Kat McConnell, an endearing young heroine who survives life on the road with her mother by retreating into her vast knowledge of Civil War history. She reenacts battles and imagines war-torn landscapes in a way that reflects her own life while also offering escape. Amanda Gable is a first-rate storyteller and her portrayal of Kat's psychological survival on this often harrowing journey is moving and memorable." -- Jill McCorkle , author of Carolina Moon and Creatures of Habit
" I have just traveled the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg and Manassas with eleven-year-old Katherine McConnell, the precocious and tenderhearted heroine of The Confederate General Rides North. What a trip it was! With beautiful writing and a plot that stampedes to its conclusion, author Amanda Gable poignantly navigates the bumpy roads of troubled families and the young girls who must endure them. Like the heroes who obsess her, Kat McConnell will take her place in your heart and memory." -- Betsy Carter, author of Swim to Me and The Puzzle King
"This whimsical -- and impressive -- debut novel, with its fresh, original take on a difficult mother-daughter relationship, rings true in every word. Indeed, readers everywhere will love being drawn into Gable's -- and into Katherine's -- oh-so-original world." -- Rosemary Daniell, author of Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives
"The Confederate General Rides North is the compelling story of Kat McConnell, an endearing young heroine who survives life on the road with her mother by retreating into her vast knowledge of Civil War history. She reenacts battles and imagines war-torn landscapes in a way that reflects her own life while also offering escape. Amanda Gable is a first-rate storyteller and her portrayal of Kat's psychological survival on this often harrowing journey is moving and memorable." -- Jill McCorkle , author of Carolina Moon and Creatures of Habit
" I have just traveled the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg and Manassas with eleven-year-old Katherine McConnell, the precocious and tenderhearted heroine of The Confederate General Rides North. What a trip it was! With beautiful writing and a plot that stampedes to its conclusion, author Amanda Gable poignantly navigates the bumpy roads of troubled families and the young girls who must endure them. Like the heroes who obsess her, Kat McConnell will take her place in your heart and memory." -- Betsy Carter, author of Swim to Me and The Puzzle King
"This whimsical -- and impressive -- debut novel, with its fresh, original take on a difficult mother-daughter relationship, rings true in every word. Indeed, readers everywhere will love being drawn into Gable's -- and into Katherine's -- oh-so-original world." -- Rosemary Daniell, author of Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives
Product Description
In this richly imagined, utterly original debut a mother- daughter road trip leads a young girl—a precocious Civil War buff—to a hard-won understanding of the American history she loves and the personal history she inherits.
Eleven-year-old Katherine McConnell is so immersed in Civil War history that she often imagines herself a general, leading troops to battle. When Kat’s beautiful, impulsive mother wakes her early one morning in the summer of 1968 to tell her they will be taking a road trip from Georgia to Maine to find antiques for a shop she wants to open, Kat sees the opportunity for adventure and a respite from her parents’ troubled marriage. Armed with a road atlas and her most treasured history books, Kat cleverly charts a course that will take them to battlefields and historic sites and, for her mother’s sake she hopes, bring them home a success. But as the trip progresses, Kat’s experiences test her faith in her mother and her loyalty to the South, bringing her to a dif- ficult new awareness of her family and the history she reveres. And when their journey comes to an abrupt and devastating halt in Gettysburg, Kat must make an irrevocable choice about their ultimate destination.
Deftly narrated with the beguiling honesty of a child’s per- spective and set against the rich backdrop of the South during the 1960s, The Confederate General Rides North gracefully blends a complex mother-daughter relationship, the legacy of the Civil War, and the ache of growing up too soon.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon Canada
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best books of 2009, Oct 27 2009
By Mary A. Axford "Mary of Many Colors" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Confederate General Rides North: A Novel (Hardcover)
Title The Confederate General Rides North: A Novel
Author Amanda C Gable
Rating ****1/2
Tags 1960s, childhood, mother-daughter relationship, mental illness
Upfront disclaimer: I know the author of this book, and like her quite a bit though it has been a few years since I've seen her. She is a bright woman and a kind person. So I was quite excited to hear she has published a novel, and was prepared to be kind to it even if it turned out to not be my kind of book.
Happily, that isn't necessary. It is indeed a fine novel. The narrator is Katherine, an 11 year old girl who is obsessed with the idea of being a Confederate general. It is the late 1960s. One summer morning her mother announces that the two of them are going to take a long trip from their home in Marietta, Georgia up to Maine, buying antiques for the store they are going to open.
Katherine knows her Mother has her rocky days, but the trip sounds exciting. The farther they go, the more disturbing the plans. For one thing, her mother reveals that they are going to live in Maine and open the store there. Katherine hurts at the idea she will not see her father and grandparents for a long time. Along the way, Katherine gets to visit some of the major Civil War battle sites, and learns that war is not the noble thing she had thought.
On the surface, there's not a lot of action in the novel. Yet it is a marvelous book, an excellent exploration of character. This will be one of my favorite books of 2009.
Publication Scribner (2009), Hardcover, 288 pages
Publication date 2009
ISBN 1416598391 / 9781416598398
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful vision of a girl's inner life, Aug 22 2009
By Jessica Handler - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Confederate General Rides North: A Novel (Hardcover)
"The Confederate General Rides North" is a vivid and genuine story of a young girl's inner life and imagination as she navigates her family's changes and the world around her during the south in the late 1960s. Gable's a terrific writer, and this is an engaging novel.
5.0 out of 5 stars
I read "The Confederate General Rides North" in one sitting, Jun 13 2010
By Marilyn S. Berman - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Confederate General Rides North: A Novel (Hardcover)
Katherine and her capricious mother take off suddenly for an unplanned antique buying trip, telling no one else in the family. As they travel up the Atlantic coast, Katherine imagines herself a general in the Civil War, always concerned for the safety of her troops. The leadership decisions Katherine must make as a general parallel those she needs to make on this road trip. Ms. Gable deftly moves between Katherine's fantasies and her current life.
Although there is little action in the usual sense, I turned pages with delicious anticipation, wanting to know what Mother would do and what choices Katherine would make.
I look forward to more from the talented Ms. Gable.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
