No Man's Land

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Because he had been unable to fight off the gator that injured his father, fourteen-year-old Thrasher joins the Confederate Army hoping to prove his manhood and battles his own insecurities and fears while facing the grim realities of war.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Civil War, Historical, Young Adult, Middle Grade, 19th Century, Childrens

176 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Susan Campbell Bartoletti is an American writer of children's literature. She was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but eventually the family ended up in a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. Susan started as an English teacher and inspired many students before deciding to pursue writing in earnest. She sold her first short story in 1989. Three years later in 1992 she published her first picture book, Silver at Night. She held a rigid routine, awaking early in the morning in order to write before she left to teach. In 1997 she turned to writing full time. Susan has since returned to inspiring future writers. She teaches writing classes at a number of MA and MFA programs, among them Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, and Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. Additionally she leads workshops offered through the Highlights Foundation.

Reviews

[Jared Meunier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The earliest book I can remember reading and something that has seared itself into the annals of my mind. Good coming of age story about the lost of innocence amidst the harsh absurd realities of life and war.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for school in 4th grade and it's what turned on the light for me that books could be cool as hell. No Man's Land jump started my love for reading so thank you Susan from the bottom of my heart.

[April Helms · Rating 4 out of 5]

was looking for "The Boy Who Dared" (which I am still waiting for) when I ran across this and thought "Why not?" It seems like a typical historical fiction story set during the Civil War from the cover: Thrasher Magee, 14, enlists in the army to prove to his father that he can be brave. But there are a lot of twists with this tale: One, Thrasher is a Confederate, and I've never seen a lot of stories center on. There's only one battle towards the end, but Thrasher's unit (based on a real one) sees the aftermaths. Also interesting is there's little mention of slavery. The emphasis here is how people's perspectives change as the war progresses. One soldier, confident in the beginning, begins to lose his nerve as he thinks of his family. Another, Thrasher's older friend from his hometown, a a joker, but he becomes a little more serious as the tale goes on. I guessed Tim's story fairly quickly, but that made it no less interesting. I liked the details and notes Bartolli put in the back (I did not know that about "standing on 18") and while there were some mistakes in terminology when she was talking about baseball (or, back then, base ball)this was fairly minor and might have been intentional. Trying to explain all the terms back then may have bogged the story down too much for what was a neat but short scene. Again, this was more of a character-driven story.

I remember when I was interning at a local library, and one assignment that students came to us with was finding a historical fiction work. Boys, naturally, wanted ones with a boy main character. I realized checking the shelves that there didn't seem to be too many -- most historical fiction books aimed at children and teens seem to be girl-centered. Well, for students with this assignment, this is a good boy/teen-based historical fiction book.

[Achraf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The non-fiction book, "No Man's Land,' is a story that is well written by the gifted author, Susan Bartoletti. First of all, this mind-blowing non-fiction book is based on a true story of a young soldier fighting through the horrors of the civil war. This young soldier is Thrasher Magee, and he is in the pin of his manhood. As the reader might of already guessed, Thrasher is not living the life he wants to live. During his time of work, he feels inadequate and worthless. But as the reader will predict, Thrasher will soon become an important figure of the Confederate Army. Thrasher has experienced many painful obstacles that were essential for him to go through for his capabilities through war. As the author exclaims, Thrasher is too young to enlist in the Confederate Army. Therefore, Thrasher Magee is a soldier that helped the Confederate Army even though he was young and he needed to come of age first. However, Thrasher did that overtime, as he was experiencing his painful situations. Lastly, I would recommend this book to people who are willing to know about a true story of a young man and who would also like to know about Thrasher Magee. In addition, I would highly recommend this non-fiction book to students who adore social studies. Overall, this book is for Middle School and can be enjoyed by many. As one can see, this story was truly inspirational seeing how a young poor little fellow growing up to be a great soldier.

[Nick Jessop · Rating 3 out of 5]

''No Mans Land'' by Susan Campbell is great book about a 14 year old boy named Trasher who decides to join the Confederate Army. This book starts off in a swamp in Georgia. Thrasher decides he must leave his family to impress his dad and make him proud. At first he is eager to go to battle but later he decides that it is not as fun and easy as he thought it would be. My favorite part was when they were at there camp and I learned what Confederate soldiers did in there free time. The soldiers did things like bug races and snake fights. I think the author wrote this book because she wanted to let the readers know how brutal the Civil War was. Overall it was a solid four and a half star book.

I really connected with the book because he was away from his home and so am I and he had buddies that supported him. I learned that the soldiers endured lots of hard work and never gave up which was interesting because it dons't sound that hard. For example, the soldiers had to cut down trees in the poring rain and some of soldiers didn't have shoes. I would recommend the book to older kids because it is violent and might be scary. To wrap it up it is a great book because it has a good storyline and an interesting plot.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrasher McGee is going through the same life events as many young men of 14. He is having a hard time getting along with his father, attempting to prove his manhood, and finding out who he is. Thrasher's journey was made a bit more difficult though, when he joined the confederate army. All Thrasher wants to do is get as far away from his father as possible until he experiences the horrors of war. Then, all he wants to do is get home to his father, his family, and his home. Thrasher and his fathers realtionship mirrors the strained relationship of the Union and the Confederacy in a way that adds a new perspective to the civil war.

This would be an excellent read for fourth or fifth graders. It highlights the realities of the Civil War without being one sided or too gory. The plot is facinating on its own, but it is an excellent teaching tool for civil war history. Also, its not one of those books that only apeals to students with an interest in battles and wars. It contains themes of family, coming of age, and the culture of the South. The characters would be great for a character analysis, because there are many characters who are very distinct. If I end up with an upper level elementary classroom, I will certainly utilize this great resource.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nicely-thought-out fictional account of a young Confederate soldier's experiences in the Civil War. The author clearly tried to represent some of the truthful but more unusual volunteers - teenage boys who were as young as 14, and girls who disguised themselves as boys to fight for their side. The book is definitely a bit on the gory side, but it's a war story and it would probably be a big negative if it didn't try to show the horrors of going to war (especially during the Civil War, when battle techniques and medical knowledge meant a huge number of casualties, amputations, etc.).

It would be an interesting book to use for a school project, as long as student, teacher, and parents all went into it aware of the subject matter.

[Alberto Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel No Man’s land, written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti is a story about a young soldier’s struggles and adventures. I really enjoyed reading this book because it makes you understand what a soldier’s life is really like. It tells you about the soldier’s everyday conflicts and what they’re thinking. I strongly recommend this book to any reader that’s interested in an intriguing novel that’s full of surprises and excitement.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid historical fiction book from the Civil War era. I liked the character development especially, as nearly all of the characters in the book evolved to some degree. This book was interesting because it had a male main character, and because he was from the Confederate side. All in all, it was great, but I am not going to use it as a book for my class as it was a bit too mature and violent for third graders. I would put it at more of a 5th grade level for content.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

gr 4-8 158 pgs


Civil War. 14 year old Thrasher joins the Confederate Okefinokee Rifles not to defend slavery, not to defend states' rights, but to prove to his father the he is not a coward. Thrasher can never seem to gain his father's approval and cannot face his father when he freezes while a gator is attacking his father. Instead he joins the army to prove that he can be brave.

Good story with a lot of detail about camp life and battlefield conditions.

[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far it is interesting but not great. Started reading it with one of my tutoring students during the school year and now would like to finish it. Purchased in Charlotte and is so far a very southern perspective of the civil way. Interested to see how the story progresses.

I enjoyed it. It had a good ending. Not the easy way out. Didn't sugar coat things.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows a teenager named Thrasher from the southern swamps of Georgia. After his father is severely injured by an alligator, Thrasher feels blame for the incident and joins the Confederate army to try and win back his father's respect. He has many adventures in the army from playing baseball and poker, to hunting and watermelons full of whiskey.

[Dotty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrasher and fam live in Okefenokee swamp, Florida, and alligator attacking their cows
Thrasher & father go hunting calling alligators
Thrasher freezes when father attacked by alligators
Leaves to fight with the confederacy to show bravery to see if he could be a hero

[Lark Petty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thraser Magee wants to prove he can be a man and earn his pap's respect. He joins the Georgian infantry and the journey to manhood begins. A story of friendship and courage. The author has written a well researched piece of historical fiction.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the well - researched story of a fictional 14 year old who fought for three confederate army. Much of the story relates to his concerns over whether he would be a man in his father's eyes, if he stood the test of battle.

[Margo Tanenbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not exceptional Civil War story--centers around a boy from Georgia who joins up, although he's underage. Includes a soldier who's really a girl in disguise as one of the main characters.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also read this in middle school, and it was pretty much the only book I liked.

[amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

And a half

[Valerie McEnroe]

Couldn't get into it. After reading The Boy Who Dared I expected more from Bartoletti. Finding good historical fiction for kids about the Civil War is like searching for a needle in a haystack. I don't get it. It's a fascinating topic.