A Splendid Little War

by S.D. Jones

Journalist Olive Dunford is horrified when she learns how her newspaper articles have influenced a member of her own family.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Library Binding

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I actually liked this, but it had some excellent moments. This is another one of those really easy, really short historical fiction texts that our Social Studies teacher recommends to his 7th or 8th grade students as a quick extra credit read. I have to admit that I didn't really know much about the "splendid little war" with Spain in Cuba, but now I do, because this time I experienced it with a story. These little books are not developed enough that you cry or care about the characters, but this one had several moments that made me react out loud, wishing I had someone there with whom I could discuss the ideas presented. Themes: writing as a source of income vs. writing what you believe, manipulation of American sentiment via journalism, romanticizing war (reality vs. idealization of it), coming of age (main character evolves from seeing things in black and white to shades of gray). There are a few parts that deal with our treatment of Native Americans and stereotyping, which I guess connects to the manipulation of public sentiment in the Cuba/Spain conflict, but it's really 2 chapters that seem out of place and could've been left out. However, then this book would take about 20 minutes to read instead of 30. A quick easy read to enjoy discussing with your students who are not reading on grade level but are ready for this kind of content.