Valverde

Rebels Along The Rio Grande #1

by Jennifer Bohnhoff

Texan Jemmy Martin wants nothing to do with the Civil War that is tearing apart the United States. He never wants to see New Mexico, the barren land that destroyed his father's happiness. But when his brother sells the family's mules to the Confederate Army, Jemmy feels forced to go with them to protect them and bring them home.

New Mexican Raul Atencio hates both the Texicans and Americanos, whose presence threatens the culture of his people. He wishes all foreigners would leave the desolate but beautiful land that his ancestors conquered centuries ago.

Although neither wants to fight, Jemmy and Raul meet face to face over the barrel of a shotgun when they become embroiled in a battle that could change the destiny of two nations.

166 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2017

About the author

Jennifer Bohnhoff is the author of a trilogy of middle grade novels set in New Mexico during the Civil War, a YA novel about a girl who suffers through a wildfire that destroys her home, several stand-alone middle grade historical novels, a duel narrative YA novel that examines the Beowulf story in both a contemporary and paleolithic setting, a series of funny contemporary middle grade novels and an adult novel set on a ranch in Southern New Mexico during WWI.

A former middle school social studies teacher, she loves travel and history.

Mrs. Bohnhoff is the mother of three handsome men, the mother-in-law of three beautiful daughters and the grandmother of three very smart granddaughters and a grandson. She lives in the mountains of central New Mexico with her husband, and a tank of a Rottweiler named Panzer.

Mrs. Bohnhoff is available to present on writing and history both online and in person.

Reviews

[Loretta Miles Tollefson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novel about the Civil War in New Mexico that begins in Texas. That location may seem odd to you unless you’re familiar with the history of Texas and New Mexico. You see, the Texas Republic tried to invade New Mexico twenty years before the Civil War. It didn’t go well. Texan teenager Jemmy’s father was involved in that earlier invasion. His resulting PTSD plays a role in Jemmy’s decision to join the Confederate Texan forces on their way to New Mexico.

The previous Texas incursion also affects New Mexico teenager Raul’s attitude toward the invading forces. Valverde follows each boy as he experiences the beginnings of the Civil War in New Mexico and as their paths cross at the battle of Valverde in February 1862. The characters are well drawn, the situations are believable, and the battle scenes are handled crisply with a minimum of gore. I recommend Valverde to young and old!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I backed the Kickstarter campaign to get this book printed. Ms. Bohnhoff is a teacher of New Mexico history at our local middle school, and I wanted to support her efforts. As a transplant to New Mexico, I don't know too much about the history of the state, and to be truthful I haven't been very interested in learning. So I was curious to see if fiction could pique my interest, and help me learn a little in the process.

I'm happy to report that I enjoyed this book very much! It was a quick read, at only 150 pages, and it took me just about 3 hours to read. It's great for the target middle-school aged kids. I was really interested in the lives of the 2 boys, Jemmy (a Texan) and Raul (a New Mexican). I love how Ms. Bohnhoff was able to weave historical details and facts seamlessly into the story.

I love the book design and print quality. There were a few typos and errors (I'm pretty sure "no me llamo ingles" doesn't mean "I don't speak English" (p. 72), but I'm no expert on Spanish!), but overall the quality was wonderful for a self-published book.

My daughter is graduating from the middle school this year (too bad she didn't have Ms. Bohnhoff in 7th grade!), but I have a son going into the 6th grade there next year. I am excited for them to have materials like this to make the history of our state come alive. Thank you Ms. Bohnhoff!