The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish

by Claudia Mills

Amanda MacLeish might be the only student in Mr. Abrams's fifth-grade class who doesn't mind doing her homework. Now that her father has left home and moved into a motel, the only thing that brings Amanda any joy is writing her fictional diary entries about a young girl named Polly who lives amid the chaos of the Civil War. Polly would understand Amanda. With one brother fighting for the North and one fighting for the South, Polly knows just how it feels to have a family split in half. But if the North and the South could find a way to reunite despite their differences, can't Amanda's family do the same?

In this touching novel by Claudia Mills, the heroine learns that enduring a split doesn't have to mean losing a family.
"The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish" is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, School, Juvenile, War

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 18, 2008

About the author

Claudia Mills is the author of Nixie Ness, Cooking Star, 7 x 9 = Trouble!, Zero Tolerance, Write This Down, and many other books for children. She was born in New York City in 1954. She received her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College, her master's degree from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University. She also received an M.L.S. degree from the University of Maryland, with a concentration in children's literature. She had a second career as a professor of philosophy at the Colorado at Boulder, until leaving that career in 2014 to write full time. She now teaches in the graduate program in children's literature at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. All of her books have been written between 5 and 7 in the morning while drinking Swiss Miss hot chocolate.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/claudi...

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claudia Mills does such an amazing job with dialog! The opening scene of the Monopoly game is so strong in setting the tone. I also like that the divorce/marriage problems were respectfully done, as were race relations issues in the school project. The interplay between the "reala life" and the Civil War diary was very clever and successful. What a pleasant surprise!!

[Sarah Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claudia Mills gets another four stars from me for this middle grade novel that is really about the wars that sometimes transpire within families. When Amanda's parents separate, she feels torn in two. She uses her 5th grade social studies diary to tell the story of a different family in crisis - a Civil War era family with one brother fighting for the north and one for the south. Readers will definitely learn a little history, but this is really Amanda's story and the novel's emotional arc is beautifully crafted.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great concept here-a 5th grade class is assigned perspectives to write civil war diaries from. Amanda's family is falling apart in real life and her day to day experiences combined with was she is learning about the civil war contribute to her entries so there are two compelling story lines. One thing that made me a little uncomfortable was how the author made a point of only including one African-American boy in the story and everytime a comment is made about slavery or the Confederacy Amanda looks to him for his reaction. Though there was a point in doing this at the end, I still wonder if it couldn't have been made some other way.

[Sara Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kind of liked it! It was really boring at the beginning of the book like the first five chapters were really boring but the rest was really good which is why i gave it a four instead of a five. Its about this girl (Amanda) that has to write a civil war diary with made up characters in it. So its historical fiction so you might like it better if you like history. But i like her diary entries a lot but there's some other parts that were interesting to me. It also has a really good ending. I LIKED THIS BOOK!

[Sharon Leger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good, something different!

[claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad.
I liked the civil war diary and how it connected to the story. At some points I may have enjoyed it more than the book

[Sharon Falduto]

A 5th grader whose parents are divorcing retreats into her school assignment, creating the diary of a young girl whose brothers are fighting on opposite sides of the Civil War.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like this one at first but the story grew on me. Not great, not the worst.

[Marfita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping in mind that this is a children's book, this is a fairly sophisticated story. Amanda's parents are splitting up (in a way that makes the mother at first look blameworthy) and her distress is paralleled by the class project: keeping a Civil War diary for Polly, a fictional girl her age who has one brother who supports the Union cause and another who supports Secession. This is a careful distinction. The younger brother does not necessarily support slavery, but does support the right of slave-owning states to determine their own regulations in this matter. The older brother, not Polly's favorite which adds to the complexity, is against slavery. And they all live on one of those border states that couldn't make up its mind either: Maryland.
The story lightly touches on attitudes about race and Amanda shows the typical attitude of someone who wants to be right-thinking, but still struggles a bit with her preconceptions while deploring prejudice. She also parallels the conflict with her own behavior when her pain over her parents' separation causes her to avoid her friend, yet want her friend to pursue her, and then blame her when she doesn't.
The message: I'm rubber and you're glue, if we go back far enough we'll find the problem was you. In her fictional diary, the brothers reconcile, as she does with her friend. Unless her parents can agree on an open relationship, that marriage is doomed and it looks like serial monogamy for Dad. And I don't believe for five seconds that her dad didn't start that relationship with Caroline until after the split and I bet Amanda's sister Steffi doesn't either, cynical little slut.
This book covers so much in so few pages. Amanda is confronted with the gamut of button-pushing situations: parental conflict, separation, adultery, pubescent sibling with attitude, shame, math homework, leaden political correctness, bad weather, racism, and a lost cat! I cried and cried. All of this is deftly written so that it doesn't seem like a ham-handed pulling out of all the stops, but just like normal life. Good job, Claudia Mills.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Members of Amanda MacLeish's 5th grade class were randomly assigned persons from the Civil War and required to write a diary from that person's perspective for one month. Amanda loves to write, and she incorporates the conflict and turmoil of her family life into her imagined diary of Polly, a young girl whose two brothers join opposing armies in the Civil War. Amanda intuitively identifies the universal concepts behind the conflict in her real world and adapts her emotions and details to portray Polly's fears and sorrow as her brothers fight. No fifth grader ever wrote as well as Amanda, but one can wish!

Mills' deft portrayal of the MacLeish's disintegrating marriage and its effects upon individual family members rings true. Some readers may find it jarring that there is only one black student in Amanda's class and that she is so concerned with his reactions to the diary writings. But again, the writing reflects the real concerns of many people who are disturbed by racism yet don't know how to combat it or are too fearful to speak up.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made a wonderful connection at the beginning of the book. Amanda's family is very much like ours at the beginning of the book. However, it changes after that. Amanda writes about her life somewhat through her civil war diary. Very enjoyable and meaningful.

Amanda MacLeish might be the only student in Mr. Abrams’s fifth-grade class who doesn’t mind doing her homework. Now that her father has left home and moved into a motel, the only thing that brings Amanda any joy is writing her fictional diary entries about a young girl named Polly who lives amid the chaos of the Civil War. Polly would understand Amanda. With one brother fighting for the North and one fighting for the South, Polly knows just how it feels to have a family split in half. But if the North and the South could find a way to reunite despite their differences, can’t Amanda’s family do the same?

In this touching novel by Claudia Mills, the heroine learns that enduring a split doesn’t have to mean losing a family.

[LeeAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Mark Twain nominee for 2010. My daughter is reading the MT nominees in school so I have been reading them too. I was impressed with the way the author wove the diary's fictional author's diary entries in with the main character's, Amanda's life as it unfolded. In this book, Amanda's family is unraveling even as her diary personna's life is confusing her, and both come to the end after reaching conciliation with the events in each of their lives.

All in all, this is a good book. My main ick to it is that I get tired of all the "realism" from what author's perceive as real life. When I was younger, my reading was an escape to another life--not because my life was bad but because I loved to pretend. I don't enjoy realistic in this way, because it doesn't hold out a better way to be. It was a little depressing although thought provoking and very well written. It does build some sympathy and understanding for those children who have to go through divorce.

[Georgene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda MacLeish's family is splitting up - her dad has moved out and is living in a motel. Amanda and her sister, Steffi don't really understand what is happening or why, but Amanda finds comfort in writing diary entries for Polly, a girl living during the Civil War whose 2 brothers end up fighting on opposite sides. This diary is an on-going assignment from her 5th grade teacher. The students share their diary entries in class, and Amanda's entries are a favorite, but Amanda is having problems at school too. She is struggling in Math and her best friend has become more interested in Irish dancing with Meghan.
I like the way the author wove different strands of the plot together and showed conflict in Amanda's family mirroring the conflict of the Civil War and the conflict between Amanda and her best friend. Ms. Mills does a wonderful job writing a story that young readers will find interesting and that they will be able to identify with.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let the title fool you like it did me...this is a very well written book about a very real topic -- dealing with the separation and divorce of your parents. Amanda struggles to come to terms with the fact that her parents are no longer together - she blames her mother, then her father, then learns that it takes both parents to break up a marriage. The use of the diary works surprisingly well here. Amanda is able deal with some of her issues through her diary entries and tie the parallel story lines together. This book deals with a topic that a lot of kids go through and it is handled it what I assume is a very typical fashion. I was very impressed with the book and I hope kids today are too.

This book is nominated for a 2010-11 Missouri Mark Twain Award.

[Joenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amanda is in 5th grade and they have an assignment where they are each given a Civil War character and they must create a diary of the character. Amanda's family life is falling apart. She knows her parents fight, but she is shocked when her dad moves out, which she thinks is all her mom's fault. Her older sister is grumpy and always fighting with her mom. Her best friend is also ignoring her and has perhaps found a new best friend. Amanda's Civil War character Polly, while in a different time period, seems to have the same emotions as Amanda, and is a great source of comfort to Amanda through these hard times. An excellent book, well written as a young girl.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lately I've been wishing for 3.5 stars often and that's where I'd really place this one. Anyway, Amanda MacLeish is the best writer in her class and that is about the only thing that seems to be helping her get through the sudden separation of her parents. Seeing as how her Dad has a girlfriend, her Mother is just angry, her older sister is hot and cold, and her best friend seems to have a new best friend - at least that's how it all looks to Amanda.
I liked that this book had a story within a story and that both were tied together by Amanda's feelings. I also thought this was a realistic look at a family splitting up without the realism being too depressingly harsh.

[Edie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mills's characters are very genuine and the pain that the main character feels at the separation of her parents is very real and resonates off the page. Her confusion about this new phase in the life of her family is also apparent, especially her reluctance to share this information with her best friend and the rift this causes in their friendship (as well as her growing annoyance with their "perfect" family that she has so wished for and found comfort in. The civil war aspect is a bit gimmicky but does give her an outlet for her unhappiness and provides a way to include her classmates in her life and outlook. A book that will particularly resonate with girls in grades 5-6.

[Matthew Winner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Another story that just pulls and pulls you in!

Amanda's parents are recently separated and she struggles with understanding why her mother would choose to leave her father. In the meantime she maintains a Civil War diary for a school assignment in which she imagines herself in the role of a young girl whose brothers enlist to fight on different sides of the war. Amanda pours her personal life into the diary and her struggle becomes that of the readers.

Well written and worth picking up.

[Mrs. Wynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. Amanda is really going through some tough stuff family-wise (Dad left and is beginning a new relationship with another woman), and she loses herself in the life of Polly, a Civil War-era character she creates a diary for as a history assignment. Claudia Mills is a master at character-development (I've read several of her books), and she excels here with both Amanda and Polly.
Recommended for ages 10-13

[Addison Children's Services · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amanda is having problems at home, her dad has moved out. Amanda, who enjoys writing, expresses her fears and frustrations through her school assignment. The Civil War diary she writes, as a girl from Maryland with a brother fighting for each cause, is fairly believable. She must have done some research. Some of the other diaries, each child in the class writes as a different character, are a hoot.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

How come every story line I have read lately has a family breaking up? I would have loved more story with the diaries the kids wrote. Although I feel the diary writing was too advanced for 5th graders. I would have loved having more of the story about the Civil War and the effect it had on the students.

[Raegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good. I liked how what was going on in the diary corresponded with Amanda's life. It confused me, though, b/c Amanda was writing a story, and her story had many similarities with the one I'm working on, including the main character's name. So I frequently had to stop and work out my thoughts.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book about a fifth-grader suffering through a civil war in her family who finds solace in writing a Civil War diary for a school assignment. The issue of families broken up by the US Civil War is cleverly paralleled by Amanda's own broken family, and themes of friendship and racism in modern times are skillfully treated.

[Anna Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sensitive book ties a contemporary family's break-up and a rift between once-best-friends to the occurances during the civil war. It touches on the topics of divorce and racism in a realistic, non-preachy way. Even though the protagonist is a girl, I can see both girls and boys enjoying it. This would be a good choice as a seed for class discussions, as well.

[Nancy Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title and cover of this book certainly are not as good as the story. The story was much better than I expected. It would be interesting to see what kids think of this story about children dealing with divorce when their father finds someone else to take their mother's place when all their parents do is fight.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is definitely a book for a young audience, but i thought the writer did a really good job with the story and feelings in it. the main character's parents are getting a divorce and she processes her reality through an assignment in fiction for her social studies class. perhaps it's a bit simplistic, but nevertheless i thought the emotions portrayed felt real and raw.

[Lynn Wynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. Amanda is really going through some tough stuff family-wise (Dad left and is beginning a new relationship with another woman), and she loses herself in the life of Polly, a Civil War-era character she creates a diary for as a history assignment. Claudia Mills is a master at character-development (I've read several of her books), and she excels here with both Amanda and Polly.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda has a school assignment to write a diary about a Civil War era girl with 2 brothers, one fighting for the North, one for the South. Amanda's parents have just separated. Amanda works through her feelings about her parents, sister, and school friends through her diary. Not quite a predictable ending which is a good thing.

[Jennifer Lassiter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book by accident after purchasing in a discount bin. It is clearly meant for elementary and middle school kids dealing with the divorce of parents and racisim at school. It is an after-school special via short novel. Used in the classroom, probably a useful tool for creating conversation. But for an adult to read for enjoyment? Skip it.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone in Amanda's 5th grade class is given an assignment to write a diary about a person living during the civil war. She writes about Polly, a girl living in Maryland that has one brother fighting for the North nad one for the South.