Red Moon at Sharpsburg

by Rosemary Wells

When the Civil War breaks out, life in the South is transformed and nothing remains the same. India Moody must summon the courage she didn’t know she had to plunge into one of the war’s most tragic and terrifying events—the Battle of Antietam, known in the South as Sharpsburg—in order to get medicine to her desperately sick father. As she struggles for survival during the Union’s brutal occupation, India gets an education in love and loss, the senseless devastation of war, and the triumph of hope in the face of despair.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Civil War, Fiction, War, Historical, Childrens

257 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, the former’s airing on Nickelodeon (part of the Nick Jr. block) and the latter’s as part of PBS Kids on PBS).

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this Young Adult book because it looked like an interesting book about the Civil War. The story focuses on a young girl, India Moody, who lives in the Shenandoah Valley during the War. The story turns out to be a powerful one, especially when India goes off to find her father who fought in the savage Battle of Antietam, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, in 1862. With Union forces closing in on the Shenandoah, India finds herself caught in a struggle for survival. This is certainly a novel that adults can enjoy as well as Young Adults!

[Liaken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wells has obviously done a lot of research for this book. And it shows. Sometimes to good effect, but often to poor effect. Much of the book reads slowly, with each character obviously serving an illustrative purpose (this is the character who is the trouble-maker, this is the one who mothers the main character, this is the brilliant young scientist, etc.). The main character doesn't quite work. She gets away with just about anything and everything, and no one seems to be really concerned about it. And she never "says" anything through the first half of the book. No, instead she "blurts out" everything. It gets old in the dialogue.

"Blah, blah," he said,

"Blah! Blah," I blurted out.

"Blahblahblah, blah," he replied.

"Blahblah, blah, blah," I blurted out.

I think she was trying to characterize an impulsive nature, but it backfired.

Now, one thing that this book does very, very well is showing the horror and immorality of war. How easy it is to start a war and how impossible it is to end one. And how much people on both sides keep hurting each other in horrible ways because the war still hasn't ended.

But, honestly, I almost quit reading this book several times (but I'm in the middle of grading analysis papers and I needed a break, and I haven't been to the library for a bit . . . excuses, excuses; and maybe this means that I was in a bad mood and feeling very critical of language while I was reading . . . and maybe it is better than I'm giving it. But that was my experience. And now it is time to end this parenthetical and return to our regularly scheduled book review).

The End.

[Lucy K · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just really boring and very slow moving. I definitely wouldn't have read it if I didn't have to. I normally like historical fiction, but to me, civil war books just aren't very good.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

As 2007 went on I started to hear more and more people talking up, "Red Moon Over Sharpsburg", by Rosemary Wells. It was low buzz, but sometimes low buzz is exactly the flavor of buzz that turns into awards and prizes later on down the road. Maybe this book was going to turn out to be some kind of surprise dark horse hit later in the year! I couldn't take the chance of not reading it, so it was plucked from my library's shelves and devoured on a long plane ride. Sadly, it is not the buzz-worthy little nugget of gold I had hoped for. Using familiar tropes, the book is oddly unemotional. Characters display odd inconsistencies, the narrative jumps about like a skittish colt, and in the end you feel much as you did when you started the book. This is not a story that encourages fondness or violent dislike. It is merely a mild book for a mild readership.

India Moody isn't your average Shenandoah Valley southern belle. Where other girls are learning their scriptures and embroidery, India's lightning quick mind craves science and natural mysteries. It's the start of the Civil War and when India's schoolteacher is shot in one of the early battles, she finds herself tutored by her godmother's son, Emory Trimble. Emory encourages India's love of the practical sciences, and is himself in search of the answers to curing diseases. War soon enters into India's life, however, with devastating results. Her father goes into battle, her mother's mind shatters, and India is left to discover her own path through right and wrong during a particularly difficult age.

The idea of the headstrong young woman who is ahead of her time, wanting to be more than just a future wife and mother, is a familiar children's literary trope. There are always new takes on the idea (My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier, by Lynda Durrant being one such example) but Wells takes a pretty standard route. India thinks things like, "Girls and women will live just a step up from a good hunting dog till the moon and sun change places in the sky," and about a corset, "It constructs the mind," without having been influenced by anyone or anything other than herself. It seems odd.

I enjoyed some individual sentence here and there in the book. Things like, "Winter comes in early in 1862, as if it wants to make all of life one big November." But at the same time the entire enterprise has the feel of a book written in pieces and then put together in chronological order. There's a jumpiness to the scenes. They leap from one moment to another without smooth transitions. There's also the fact that India's critique of her beloved South is inconsistent. One minute she will discuss with someone how the South could lose the war and the next she's biting off someone else's head for stating a similar opinion. More disturbing that this, however, is the book's general lack of emotion. At no point during this tale was I inclined to cry. Even when beloved characters die or disappear, the reader is not sucked into the emotions of the tale. Playful romantic scenes are also delivered in a kind of narrative monotone. At one point India's bare ankle is grabbed and she is pulled down from her horse, but we never get a sense of how she feels. Wells is not a fan of adverbs. She is a straightforward writer but not, I'm afraid, one given to adequately conveying sentiment or feeling. The result is a cold fish of a book.

For a better take on a young woman during the Civil War and her father's devastating decision to go fight, consider Hearts of Stone by Kathleen Ernst. Though Ms. Wells is as historically accurate as any reader could possibly hope for, her book is sadly sapped of emotions and the tone is off. She is a fine writer but "Sharpsburg" is not her strongest work. Consider it oddly forgettable for a book filled with death and decay.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must have really liked this story of a southern girl during the Civil War because I stayed up late two nights in a row to finish it. India Moody is smart and tomboyish, two things not looked upon nicely in Virginia in 1861. The story develops two themes: India's desire to resist the whaleboned corsets and meek married life that seem to await her and instead go to Oberlin College and the horrors wrought on her family and town by the war. From an adult perspective, parts of the story may seem simplistic, but still it's well told. We see the good and bad on both sides and we feel sorry for the main characters. Despite the title, Sharpsburg (better known as the Battle of Antietam) takes up only a chapter or two of the book, although it's effect on India is profound. Highly recommended to young readers who like historical fiction.

[Sherry Guice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written, but takes quite a bit of teaching. Set during the Civil War, the main character is a girl who experiences the war, racism and the limits of being a girl during this time.

[Yara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't decide between a four and a five. A beautiful book.

[Zaria Newbell]

Terrible book hated every second of it

[Cayson B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little confusing but a good book. I recommend it to people that like wars.

[max theodore]

this book is an important landmark in my memory for being the first time i (7th grade) realized you could look up negative reviews of books you hated and experience Haters' Euphoria

[Adelaide · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really slow. Didn't go anywhere. Didn't "hook" me.

[Katie Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Moon at Sharpsburg, by Rosemary Wells, is an entertaining and historically accurate fictional story. It takes place in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, around the time of the Civil War. This book shows the power of hope, perseverance, and kindness in difficult times.

The book follows the life of India Moody, a teenage girl growing up in Shenandoah Valley. The book begins in the time before the war, with India dreaming of getting a “man’s education” in the sciences. With Shanandoah located deep in the south, India takes the side of her family and her home town in the growing war. She firmly believes that the war doesn’t really matter, and the war will soon be won by the South. India’s stance starts to waver when her father gets drafted to fight in the war. In the blink of an eye India is saying goodbye to her father and watching him ride off with the troops to their next battle. With her father gone, India has even more responsibility helping take care of the house and her mother and baby brother and even less time to focus on her studies. India’s world comes crumbling down when she gets the news that her father had been killed in the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland. India has to hold her family together and try to cope with the worsening conditions of the war. When she finds an injured Yankee soldier dying in an abandoned house, India has to overcome her hatred for the men she blames for the death of her father and help the injured Yankee to recover. In the end, helping the Yankee soldier helps her learn an important lesson in perseverance and kindness, and she is able to attend her dream of going to University.

I really enjoyed this book, it was interesting and entertaining from start to finish. While the story was fictional, the events and settings were historically accurate and down to the smallest details. The story was very well written and the way it was presented made it feel like it was a story of real events. The author was able to keep it realistic and historically accurate while also keeping in exciting and edge-of-the-seat. India, the main character, was relatable in a way despite the historical setting. I really enjoyed how the author showed the struggles that India faced and her hesitancy to help the Yankee soldier, instead of her jumping at the chance to be a hero. The author did a great job of showing the struggles India faced and the power of perseverance and kindness in the face of adversity.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

When we first meet our main character, India Moody is 12 years old. She'd rather run with the boys and play their war games than sit inside with the girls. She likes school and is actually disappointed when the school is shut down because their teacher goes off to fight for the Confederates. With school shut down and the war picking up speed, India's best friend moves north to Oberlin, Ohio where there is a college that accepts women. India begins studying with Emory Trimble, a scientist who shares his theories about bacteria and chemistry. India develops the hope that she will one day attend Oberlin College and study science. A lot of stuff gets in her way, though. First of all, she's a woman. No woman is going to be able to make a career out of science. Second of all, she's in Virginia and has no money to get to Ohio. Also, there's a war on. And despite the South's hopes that the war would be over in three months, it just keeps going on.

This is a sprawling novel, continuing through much of the Civil War in just about 250 pages. I thought parts of it felt a little disjointed and I wished that I could have seen India's character grow and change a bit more gradually. But there's no denying Ms. Wells's beautiful turn of phrase.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the historical setting of this book, but felt that the characters were lackluster at best. I also found the age difference between Emory and India a bit strange. I know people married younger then, but they met when she was 12 and he was 19. This felt a bit off to me.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed this well enough. the characters felt kind of removed- not enough emotion in the writing.

[Coy W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young India Moody is being born on the Trimbles carpet (or somewhere close or something) then shes born I don't know why I mentioned this but this was the beginning of the book. Then some stuff happens and her best friend (I forgot her name because she was such a minor part) moves away to Ohio and tells her to come to college later. Then India has to go to the Trimbles to get tutored then she learns about science and falls in love with Emory Trimble and all that stuff. The battle of Sharpsburg was in the title so you think it would be important right you thought wrong. It was 15 pages of wasted time of her trying to get medicine to her father. Then Emory has to go to war and same thing but India and her family moves to some town then she gets kicked out moves back then the Trimbles get kicked out of there house and everything go's wrong but then she moves in with Ester and Micha some weird random characters that were in the whole book apparently but I don't. Then they save someone and India get back to Emory in prison and then the book ends and it is really weird.

Paragraph 2.
A example of a Hyperbole (a huge exaggeration) is "It's worse than a hog killing, but it ain't hogs Page 192. He is relating the war to a hog killing even war is way worse.
An example of Imagery is when they use five senses to describe something. "The stench in the house is so shocking I believe no human being could stay inside for more than a minute." This could also count as a Hyperbole because she stays in there for much longer than a minute add two to the scoreboard. 3-5
An example of Personification is when "I hold Abby in my arms as if she was Eddie" Eddie is her brother and Abby is her doll.
A metaphor is when you say something that is kind of like of like what you are talking about "Amos birdsong was like a son to me. He had the sight of a eagle and the strength of a lion but as dumb as a ox.

Overall a decent book but it was really boring but besides that it was good

[Nikolas Bedish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red moon at Sharpsburg By: Nikolas Bedish
The book I read was Red moon at sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells. This book was about courage and hope. This book was about the struggles of living during the Civil War for a young teenage girl. It was also about the different challenges she faces and how she overcomes them.
The book talks about how life was not fair to women and slaves. I liked the book because I like to learn about history and where people show courage.

The book is about India’s father Cyrus Moody how helped save a man named Calvin Trimble, after he was injured by falling off a horse. Geneva who is Calvin's wife, she promises to help Cryus family because Cyrus saved Calvin. The setting of the book then goes to the time of the Civil War in Virginia. The main character is India who is learning science, which are subjects that girl’s are not allowed to be taught. India’s father is called up to war, even though he does not want to go. Indian has to try to find her medicine because her dad is sick and he is still at war. She got the medicine and went to go look for the father, but she had found out that he passed away. Then Indian goes on to help other injured people in the war. The theme of the book is to show the civil war from how a thirteen year old experiences the Civil War.

I liked the bravery India shows because it is a difficult time that she still tries to make things better. She travels and brings medicine to wounded soldiers. I liked the characters because they had to do something even though they didn’t want to do it. India's father enlisted for confederate side, even though he did not want to fight in the war. No matter what side your on people can still do good things for people you aren't supposed to like. Even though they are in the south they helped union soldier get back to a safe place.

[Allie Massaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book, yeah, but definitely not on of my favorites. To sum up the book I can describe it in few words: outgoing girl gets her world ripped apart only to come back together almost perfectly. There, 14 words. Up until Antietam the book is slow, though it’s very emotional. After Antietam it goes faster and lots of surprises to come. Finally India doesn’t talk, she blurts out what she wants to say. India just interrupts someone and its completely wrong. Not only is it unladylike, but no boy would really do this either. This is the one thing that bugs me the most because it just doesn’t fit with the times or even now because most parents will punish a child for interrupting, especially if their saying something important. 4.5 starts guys. So yes I do recommend this book to anyone who would like to read with a female protagonist or a Civil War times.

[Leona Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Red Moon At Sharpsburg” personally wasn’t my favorite book, the story line was quite hard to follow and the first few chapters were kind of confusing. When the author introduces characters, there were too many new names in one chapter so I confused some characters with others later on. I’m not much of a reader but the ending was quite good with expressing emotion. I think the audience that would most enjoy this book is 6th-7th graders because of how it teaches about the experiences others might have faced during the Civil war and relates to people of that age as well with the main character being 12 years old.

[Mya Ogden · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Civil War was introduced life in the South was changing. A young girl, named India Moody, gets sent off to do tutoring with a brilliant scientist. But, when the Union forces are traveling twords them her family's lives are in danger. Will India have enough courage to plunge herself into the war or stand back and watch the lives of her people suffer. This book is a really deep story I think it changes the mind-set of how people living in this time period think now. If your into intense and heart breaking stories this sure is the one for you!

[Dawn Baer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at The Antietam National Battlefield’s bookstore. So glad I bought it. The book is about young India’s struggles through the Civil War and her love of learning science which was unheard of for a young lady at the time. The author’s spellbound writing makes you feel as if you were actually there. India’s trip to Antietam to find her father was heart wrenching as it described the devastating realities of the war. This is a young adult’s book but I would recommend it for anyone as an excellent fast read.

[Barbara Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first started this book, I was prepared to dislike it because it was about the war from the losing side's perspective, and I'm not really a fan of that. However, the book did a good job of showing the war and the attitudes of the South as the war progresses. I was pissed at the way the book ended though - it seemed like there was a lot of the story still left to be told.

[Katie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! I have not read about the civil war before and this book surely brought it to light. I have been to many of the battlefields and reading about the battles and how they were fought connected the two experiences for me. I loved the characters and India's need for education and learning beyond what was expected.

[Becca Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my kids and we all really liked it. It’s a compelling story if the civil war, and the gruesome immorality of war in general. It was told from the southern view (not written as pro-slavery, just from a southern experience), and it was really eye-opening to my children. Way more informative, thought-provoking and instructional than memorizing dates and general names!

[Liz Cloos · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enthralling telling of the civil war from the perspective of a girl coming of age and questions the status quo. I wished the book would have continued to see how her life after the war would have turned out.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow, I never warmed up to the protagonist in this story, so I never could get fully involved in it. It's well researched and interesting enough, and I'm sure it gets points for having a strong female voice--but I just never connected well many of the characters.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fast-paced book that introduces the reader to the social history and medical science available during the American Civil War. The characters are engaging and believable, and the story accurately recounts the details of Antietam.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of confusing at the beginning.

[Becky Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Rosemary Wells' picture books. For a middle- grade book, this was very deep and well-written. I loved it.

[Abby Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written story of a young girl during the civil war. Great characters with very human flaws. Very engaging.