1863: A House Divided: A Novel of the Civil War

by Elizabeth Massie

America as seen through the eyes of its young founders.

By April 1863 the Civil War has been raging for two years. On their sleepy farm in Gettysburg, sixteen-year-old twins Susanne and Stephen are alarmed by news that Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee are threatening to invade the North for a strike at Washington, D.C.! Rebel forces in the Union capital? Is it possible?

Bored with farm life and itching for action, Stephen runs away to join the beleaguered Army of the Potomac to fight Johnny Reb. Susanne decides to join a nursing outfit to assist the Union's wounded. Sparated by war, death, and disease, the twins maintain a correspondence. But little do they know that Union and Confederate forces are converging on a small town for a battle that may determine the outcome of the war--a town called Gettysburg.



At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Civil War

191 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2000

About the author

Elizabeth (Beth) Massie is a 2-time Bram Stoker Award and Scribe Award-winning author of horror/suspense, historical fiction, media tie-ins, nonfiction, and short fiction for adults. She also writes novels for teens and middle grade readers. Her series, Ameri-Scares, is currently in development for television by Warner Horizon (Warner Brothers), LuckyChap, and Assemble Media. Stay tuned! She lives in the Shenandoah Valley with her husband, illustrator Cortney Skinner.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Youth seem to think going to war is exciting and adventuresome until they witness firsthand the brutality and horrors of it. I applaud the selfless bravery of those who serve to protect our freedoms.
There was mild cursing sprinkled throughout, but also faith and prayer.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for young adults and younger. It's the story of a family during the Civil War. Susanne and her brother Stephen are forced to live with their Aunt and Uncle after their parents are killed in a fire. The Uncle is as mean as can be, and the Aunt is pretty much around the bend and halfway into the next county.

It doesn't help when another relative, who is sane but as nasty as the Uncle, shows up with her constantly whining son. Stephen and a friend of his run off to join the military, and the book does a very good job of showing just how rough it was on them. There are some descriptions of things in this book that might upset those who are sensitive to gory parts of books.

The 'House Divided' concept comes from the fact that the Uncle is a very strong supporter of the South; Stephen supports the Union..

To make matters worse, they live quite near Gettysburg and will end directly and indirectly involved in one of the most important Civil War battles to take place.

This is an extremely good book.

[Noelle Kukenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written book for upper elementary grade readers. There is some swearing as well as graphic and accurate descriptions of the horrors of war. Told from the individual perspectives of 16 year old twin siblings, this story is very believable as to what every day folks experienced during the civil war, including the emotional and mental toll it took on civilians as well as the soldiers.

[Andjelija · Rating 2 out of 5]

in this book a brother and sister have to be torwn apart to find peace in themselves. one to stay at home and the other to go and the other to go and fight in the war.

in the book i was able to connect to the characters only onc when she found herself in a near death scene, when she almost fell of her hourse and flu into a tree. i feel the same way when something like that happens to me.

i gave this book 2 sars because it was so slow and nothing really happend. i would recomand this book to those who like civil war books.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a pretty good book,not the best but i liked it.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F MAS yf 1863

[Jordan Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the same old Civil War story with lifeless characters and a cliche, predictable, and rushed-through plot. Not worth your time.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

C. YA, Civil War, historical fiction, siblings