" Claire Louise Corbet and her family live in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Civil War. The town is split with friends and family who have joined both Confederate and Union sides of the war. Claire's older brother Landon attended Harvard and joined the Union army as a doctor while Claire's father joined the Confederate cause as a doctor in Lee's army. When the Union army was laying seige on the town of Vicksburg, Landon returns with a Confederate soldier, Robert, whom Landon had been treating for his injuries. Landon is stuck knowing that he could be court martialed if he does not turn in this Confederate soldier, but they have become friends so the decision is not easy. Claire doesn't allow her brother to turn Robert in because she gets involved with helping Robert escape on her beloved horse Jewel. Claire learns a great deal about family, sibling relationships, love, and war in this Rinaldi novel. I was disappointed the novel was so short. I think Rinaldi could have developed the story more, but as usual, Rinaldi "takes the reader there" and shows us what living in Vicksburg would have been like during the Civil War. Epilogue, Author's Note, and Bibliography complete the text. Recommended for upper elementary and middle school. "
— Heather, 2/9/2014