Adoption Books

Wow is the first word that comes to mind when I think about this series! Morgan meets a guy named Cal & her very normal boring life turns into a very abnormal exciting life. I'm sure by reading all the other reviews you understand the main plot of the story. I LOVE the sweep series & all of Cate Tiernan's books!! Growing up I loved to read but when I started highschool I stopped reading. Only after I graduated I was in the bookstore & saw this series. I decided to buy it & this series is what made me fall in love with reading all over again!

I really enjoyed this book and ripped right through it. Cate's writing style is easy to read and her images are evocative. I find the dynamics of Morgan and Bree's friendship very realistic. I've had a few friends like Bree in my past and this book definitely took me back to the fights I've been in. I also liked how drinking and sex are not made an 'issue' in the Sweep series. Cate neither condemns or condones them, and I think it makes these books accessible to a wider audience, from middle school to early twenties.

Morgan Rowlands is a normal teenage girl. She gets good grades, hangs out with her friends, and goes to church with her family on Sundays. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happens to her... until she meets Cal Blaire.

Cal is the new cute senior who has just transferred to Widow's Vale High. His looks aren't the only thing that sets him apart from other boys. He's Wiccan, a different religion than Morgan and one that she has never come into contact with before.

Something about Cal and his religion interests Morgan and her best friends, Bree and Robbie. The more they hang out with Cal, the more they like him. While with Cal, Morgan learns something about herself that completely blows her mind -- and may change her life forever.

This book was fun to read. The story was great and you learn a thing or two about Wicca as you read it (it's not scary!). BOOK OF SHADOWS is the first of 14 books, plus a super edition novel, so this is only the start of Morgan and Cal's adventures.

Reviewed by: Michaela Pallante aka "Mickey"

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I could not put it down. So I am buying the rest of the series today. I highly recommend this book.

I liked this book, it was realistic but had a little twist of more fictionalized magic.

I liked the characters as well, I could relate to Morgan's shyness.

My only dislike of the book was the fact that it's extraordinarily short and the font is rather big, so it's even shorter.

My grandmother is Joyce II in this book. She kept this secret from us until he called her out of the blue one day. She always kept in contact with the parents leaving her information with them, but always leaving it up to him to make the first move. When he called her she said, "I thought you would hate me for what I did." He replied, "No I love you for it." Then they reunited. He is a wonderful man. He sent her a first mother's day card. He eats ice cream by the gallon and likes to work on cars. Some of his teeth are knocked out and he like to show people his false ones. He is incredibly funny and so tall. I went to a reading of this book when it was published. They had all the women from Houston line up and read thier portion of the book out loud along with the author and her story. He was able to attend that event and hear the story of his own past. It was a little strange for me because I was always defined as Fred and Joyce's grandaughter. Now I was Fred's grandaughter, not the child of her son.

This book opened up so much for me. It really showcases what being pregnant and young/unwed meant in my mothers generation. In my generation I saw pregnant girls by the dozen walk through the halls of my high school, thinking why would they keep there babies they are 16 and 17 years old. I recongize now just how huge it is that are allowed to stay in school. Now I am so thankful that sex was talked about in my health class, and while contraception wasn't a big point in the syllabus, it was there. I think this book showcases just what we can improve on as a society.

This book is really a must read for all poeple.

Being a birthmom myself, and being reunited with my daughter for a little over a year, has been such a new experience for us all. I am so grateful she is alive and well, though we have a long ways to go for healing. I am fine with this, as I understand her view point, as she is healing too.

I read this book in one sitting, was so drawn to this, and was amazed by the other bmom's experiences, it is a must read for anyone involved in the adoption triad.

We bmom's feel the pain, and as birthmoms' should have a voice, not to bury the lost of their own child, voluntarily or not. Quite a few people still in today's world accept the amother and the achild, but the bmom, still shunned by today. I know this, because I am still being judged. Even though I am telling quite a few of my daughter. Just now I don't care what other people think, where before I was so ashamed on so many levels, and was never allowed to grieve.

This book helped heal my heart with the compelling stories that birthmoms' do have a voice, and the pain of relinquishment voluntarily or not, and living with the loss. Thank you for publishing this book and for these brave Bmom's for sharing their stories

I am a 36 year old adoptee who was reunited with my birth mother in my early twenties. Although we enjoy a wonderful, close relationship, the topic of my birth is still exquisitely painful for her to discuss. Reading this book gave me a better appreciation for how hard the decision to relinquish me must have been. I would like to thank Ann Fessler for her work.

Even-handed it's not!

Another reviewer says, "Every woman described did consent to the placement of her baby for adoption. Whether she felt like it or not, she did consent. Until a birthmother comes to acknowledge that decision and the decisions that she made that led up to it, healing simply cannot begin." I could not agree more. Yes, it's scary to admit that a decision you made as a scared unwed mom affected so many lives, and left an emotional legacy for your child that lasts a lifetime, but that's the reality. Even in the best of cases, adoption involves loss, pain, and emotional difficulties for the most defenseless and innocent of the parties involved: the baby. (Note to birth moms: if you read books like Your Amazing Newborn by Marshall & Phyllis Klaus and How Babies Talk: The Magic and Mystery of Language in the First Three Years of Life by Roberta Golinkoff & Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, the emotional awareness of newborns and the level of fetuses' connection with their moms well before birth will totally blow your mind; so much for the ole "blank slate"!)

This book, given to me, an adoptee, via mail by my newly found birth mother, made me sad, angry, and downright irritated at all the victim mentality refrains repeated throughout this long read. Yes, I know some of these moms were teens when they gave birth, but guess what? They were still adult enough to get pregnant, and I don't think age alone or cultural pressures alone can justify their choice, yes choice, to place their child for adoption.

I am not saying that giving up a child for adoption is inherently wrong or "bad," nor am I saying that society at large and the adoption agencies who pressured single pregnant women don't have a burden of guilt to bear. However, I cannot just let all birth moms off the repsonsibility hook. It would have been so refreshing to hear more of these birth moms say, "I thought about my future chances at higher education, a husband, a nice, traditional family, and on balance I decided it was worth the pain of giving up my baby in order to have that future I dreamed of." Or, "I felt ready to experiment sexually and was really enjoying my newfound sexuality when I got pregnant." But I never heard those words, or any such words where anyone takes any responsibility for their actions or choices. Just: victim, victim, victim!

Not surprisingly, reading this many pages from just ONE point of view gets tiresome (especially when you are reading it through the eyes of the unwanted and inconvenient unborn baby). This book would be *greatly* improved by including the narratives of others involved in the adoption dynamic: birth fathers, birth mothers' parents and siblings, adoption agency workers, pregnant single moms who kept and raised the end results of their unintended pregnancies (I am sure there were a few who bucked the system but you'd never know it from this work); and last but not least, the nameless, faceless adopted babies who get virtually no voice at all in this book.

By the end of this book, you feel like you've been reading about a Taliban-controlled moral wasteland where women are veiled and cloistered, not the US forty years ago. I appreciated this glimpse into the inner secret world of a pregnant teen of the 60s and the struggles they faced, but the lack of balance and the sense of these women's desperate embrace of Victim Status continually grated and prevented sincere reading enjoyment.

The book gets one star for being emotionally compelling and highly readable, and one star for telling a story that needed to be told. In both these respects, it is worth a look.

Too bad the contributors could not see beyond their own pain enough to create a work that would tell the stories of all involved, even if this would mean giving up a fantasy in which they always get to play Powerless Little Girl instead of Woman Who Made a Choice. In many ways, this book feels incomplete, and the women who share their stories in its pages seem like adults trapped forever in a teen's worldview, obsessed with their poor wounded inner child.

PS- This book actually made me wonder if there isn't a typical personality profile for the 60s woman who chose to place her baby for adoption-- obsessed with her own sense of powerlessness; emotionally immature; selfish and narcissistic but unwilling to admit any remotely self-centered thinking or actions. Hmmmm.... could be?!?! If I've offended any birth moms, please read the book and judge for yourself before you comment on my comments. I am confident that after reading the entire work you will see where I'm coming from even if you don't agree with the points I've raised.

I found "Girls in Trouble" a compulsive read and a tear jerker AND highly literate. As an adoptive mom maybe I was overly emotional, but this story, as many have said, IS a page turner. I read the hard cover and couldn't believe I hadn't read it earlier, now in paperback.

Here's what is great about this book: The well-rounded unique characters, the atypical adoption story, the way everyone here is capable of transformation, the way the adoptive parents fumble-- understandably; the two "girls" at the center: Sara and Anne. It's probably true that few mother-daughter reunions are this utterly amazing, for both, but mainly Caroline Leavitt makes every twist of the plot: more than real. We have tragedy and comedy, great writing, and a happy ending (sorry, spoiler).

So why did I lose two nights of sleep over this book. Because Leavitt knows how to move a plot forward as if seamlessly. Because the language, though easy to read, is gorgeous. Here's a tiny example is not only true but captures the real sub-text:

p 231: "People had it so wrong about missing. "It's like a pie," her mother once told her. "The pie is your whole life, the pieces are pain, and after a while, each piece gets smaller and smaller, and then you have your whole life back." Her mother was so wrong. Maybe the pieces grew smaller, but your hunger for them didn't, it was always there, real and immediate, like breathing, necessary and something you couldn't control or stop, even if you wanted to. And like a pie, your past was something you were always hungry for."

What is so wonderful about this novel is that most of the many characters spout homilies about how good life will be. But for virtually everyone here, that is a lie, and the lie is what Leavitt shows. Pain doesn't stop until there is truth and redemption. That the characters, who leap off the page more real than real people you know-- all have to learn the above lession, and each in his or her way do, which is why I love this novel. Everyone, despite earlier rigigites sp?, eventually, and beautifully, come around.

Lies hurt. Pain is only cured by truth and magnanimity. These emotions are scarse in life, but abundant in "Girls In Trouble." Which is why reading this, on Yom Kippur no less, made me feel a renewed devotion not to lie and to see the world from others' point of view. There is one graph ONE that I thought was a tad off. ONE GRAPH in a novel 356 pages long. How many novels are this good? Very few. Leavitt in this book, one of many she has written, is up there with Sue Miller and Carole Shields, a natural story teller. Read it and see if you find that one graph, because even that is so well written I bet you won't find it. Everything here leaps off the page as absolutely REAL.

5 stars, highly recommend!! Thank you, Caroline Leavitt. A great book is a real gift and now that I've finished just twenty minutes ago, what I feel is grief. I, like another reviewer, would love Leavitt to have a sequel, long into the future or not so long. This books just begs for a second novel. It's THAT good. It's actually GREAT. I read a whole heap of books every week, but rarely am I as sad for a novel to end.

I loved, loved, loved this book. The characters of Sara, Danny, Eva, George, Abby, Jack, and Anne all have their parts in this story of an open adoption. Each has feelings and hopes and wants only the best for one another, and as things proceed through time, tangling more and more deeply, the disparate elements of all the families doubt one another and each doubts his / her own motives. In the end, love is redefined. Please read this book to have a look at the feelings of parents, teens, and grandparents

Life doesn't go according to plan, in spite of best intentions and the strongest of bonds. The same goes for the lives rendered in this book. I am hugely impressed by the author's ability to stump me as I eagerly followed the realistic trajectory of Girls in Trouble. The plot course is deliciously impossible to predict, and the emotional status of each character never seems contrived. These facets, along with a compellingly realistic timeline for each character keeps the tale from straying into sterotypes.

I sensed there was more to Sara's parents than we were allowed to know. In fact, the novel's dignified demand for inferences earned my respect though I longed for more certainty. The book never panders to what readers crave, yet it makes compelling statments about fate, wants, needs, and the power of love.

Facts inserted for future reference never feel like red herrings OR foreshadowing, and, for that, I marvel all the more at the author's deft planning.

I will be sure to read everything Caroline Leavitt writes.

This novel started out kind of like an "after-school special" showing the tragic results of teenage sex, but as I continued to read, the characters became more dimensional and I began to see that there is much more to this novel than I originally believed. The author takes the time to fully develop the characters so that you understood where their decisions are coming from.

This is the story of Sara, sixteen and pregnant and the novel opens on the drive to the hospital to have her baby. She is attended by her parents but her thoughts are only of the adoptive parents to whom she has promised her child. Sara feels as though no one understands her and the only person she thought she could truly trust was Danny, the baby's teenaged father, but after telling him of the impending birth, Danny leaves town and abandons Sara. She would love to keep her baby and raise it, but she also wants her child to have the best - so she decides upon an open-adoption, in which she will be able to be a part of the child's life.

She chooses Eva & George, a friendly older couple and instantly bonds with Eva, who has always wanted to become a mother. Sara feels she is more a part of her family than she is in her own. Her parents are disappointed in her and want Sara to put the baby up for adoption and just move on with her life, but Sara won't listen and forges a strong bond with the adoptive family.

Then things get too close for comfort and the relationship becomes strained as Sara becomes too close to the family in an unhealthy way. Then Sara does something that ultimately breaks the strong connection with Eva & George and she feels the bond with her baby break, perhaps permanently.

I particularly enjoyed reading the story from the characters different perspectives and getting know the reason why Danny ran away. We even learn the story from the baby's perspective. As she grows, Anne, like Sara, has never really felt connected to her adoptive parents and when she gets the chance to meet Sara, she thinks that her prayers have been answered by being reunited with her birth mother, but events happen that once again, tear Sara and her daughter apart.

Caroline Leavitt does an excellent job introducing each character and drawing you into their lives. The interaction between the characters is gripping and the story is well told - I will certainly look for more books by this author and I highly recommend this story.

I have started reading even though I am not done with this yet, I love the book. I have not been able to put it down. It gets good right from the start of the first paragraph.

This is a true love story about a family of penguins, their keeper, and the public who visits them. This book can be used to introduce a family with two dads, surrogacy, or adoption or it can be read and loved for the simple love it shares.

This is disgusting. What is the world coming to when we have filth like this being given to our children. All this book is going to do is confuse them!

This is a wonderful book about how being different is ok. It's terrible that people want this book banned. There is nothing crude or offensive in this story and the illustrations are great.

I don't think this book is about gay penguins. It is about two loving and caring penguins who are acting like penguins do. Animals don't think the same way humans do. Humans are the ones who have made this wonderful book into something not acceptable. I will be giving this book to my young grandchildren and I know they will appreciate it for what it is, a wonderful book about two penguins who are acting like penguins should and do. There is nothing homosenual about this book, only in the eye of the reader.

The story doesn't stick true to what really happened. The gay couple split up as soon as he found a more attractive female mate. I guess that's the way nature was meant to be. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169653,00.html

This is a great book that keeps you interested from page one to the end. I think it would be interesting for readers of any age and gives everyone a window into the soviet world that is mind boggling.

I read "Potevka" while traveling across Russia on a train. The book was gripping and hard to put down. It's a fast, enjoyable, thrilling read.

This book was written by an American Military Veteran, with a detailed perspective of the History of the Soviet Union. It is a treasure of information about real day to day relationships of the Soviet people and their government. Although names and place have been somewhat fictionalized, the meat of the story gives any reader a perspective into Soviet living.
At one point the primary character in the story finds himself in a desperate situation, starving and unable to find food in a town that is between to major USSR cities. The town is almost completely vacant, yet personal virtues prevent him from stealing food from the vacated homes, which is actually one of the first thoughts I had when I read the town was empty. Even more intriguing is the reason the town is empty.
Every American citizen should at least read the first few pages of this book just to see how and why economies can fail, our own economy is suffering - for example is the Soviet Union bent on making America feel the pain it felt or worse, and how might this happen.
As a former military veteran myself, I find this book is powerful for uniting people to prevent a similar demise that destroyed a nation. Those who are so petty as to limit their perspective on the man's religion, are exactly the same kinds of perspectives that made Russia an Atheist state.
Kudos to the Author - This story had to be told, now what about Sasha?

My daughter's book group read this book and she passed it on to me. I found the story very interesting and I had a hard time putting it down for two days. Although he is a first-time author, and you can tell, I found myself drawn into the story so much that I could feel the cold of the Russian winter. I wouldn't classify it as a "spy thriller" but more as a memoir of a significant experience in the author's life complete with his feelings and reflections during the time of the story. I did like the background information on Russia interspersed throughout the book. I also wonder how the box got there and although it seems far-fetched, stranger things have happened. Thanks for a good read. Are you going to tell us what happened to Sasha?

I appreciate that the author served our country. The book seems to go nowhere, it drones on and on. I was given a signed copy of the book and I felt cheated. At a penny the book is over priced and your time is better spent doing something else. I thru my copy of the book away it was so bad.

Primrose's father was lost at sea and her mother left her with Miss Perfidy to go look for him. After a few months of living with Miss Perfidy the town of Coal Harbour decided it was time for Primrose to have more permanent arrangements. Uncle Jack to the rescue, but Uncle Jack is bent on developing Coal Harbour and making it a tourist attraction. Miss Honeycut (the school counselor) has her eyes on Uncle Jack (sans Primrose), Miss Perfidy is suddenly remembering experiences she's never had, Primrose can't seem to keep herself out of innocent trouble.

The only thing Primrose still had of her mother's was an old notebook that had a recipe in it. So Primrose starts to collect recipes she thinks her mother would like, or recipes her mother has done. The recipes are included at the end of each chapter. Primrose is getting help with her cooking and recipe finding from Miss Bowzer the woman who runs Primrose's favorite restaurant Girl on a Red Swing, where everything you order comes on top of a waffle.

Primrose remains steadfast in her belief that despite all the evidence she knows in her heart her parents are alive and waiting to come home to her.

So while Primrose waits for her parents and is surrounded by a bunch of bumbling grown ups, she looks for recipes and asks the people she knows if despite the evidence they ever just knew in their heart that things were different.

The book ended rather abruptly, however.

Ages group 9-12. Great read aloud book. It's sad, its sweet, its exciting, its funny. There are a number of talkable topics in this book as well.

The book I chose is everything on a waffle. I chose this book because it is a cool book to read. This book was about a girl losing her parents. Her parent left her with Miss Perfidy. Uncle Jack is in bad pain when he saved Miss Honeycutt. Then they find Primrose's parents. They told the whole story to Primrose. My favorite part of the book was when the parents came back. This was my favorite part because Primrose found her parents. I am recommending that you read this book because it has feeling.

I chose the book Everything on a Waffle for my report because it is an interesting book. The book is about a girl, Primrose, who loses her mom and dad in a storm in the sea, and now she lives with her uncle Jack in Coal Harbor.
My favorite part was when her parents came back to Coal Harbor. It was my favorite part because I like happy endings in books. I would recommend this book to you because I think you would like it if you read it.

Everything on a Waffle is a great book By Polly Horvath. I can see why this book won the Newbury Award! I think Polly Horvath should make a part 2 of the book Everything on a Waffle where Primrose and her parents go on many adventures together. But anyway this is a really good book, I think that anyone who likes a good book, should buy Everything on a Waffle! It's about a 11 year old girl, Primrose, who's parents are lost at sea! Everybody keeps saying her parents are dead, but Primrose keeps her confidence and tells herself that her parents are still alive!

The characters in this story are so well drawn, that this book is hard to put down. The main character, Primrose, is a delightful young lady. Facing tragedy she appears naïve in the eyes of some, but there's a brave quality to her that makes her a classic hero with qualities any 11 year old can relate to with ease.

Each chapter includes a recipe and young readers with an interest in cooking or baking will want to head straight to the kitchen upon completion of this well told tale. It is both tragic and triumphant and at times, very funny. Highly recommend for ages 10-12, and adults who enjoy thoughtful YA fiction.

The illustrations and story was great. I was at a professional school counselors conference and this book was highly recommended.

I was taken by surprise by the subject matter of the book. I was not aware the book was about an adopted child.
I wanted to give it as part of a Christmas gift for my grandchild who lives out of state, but only read it when it arrived for shipment to her. Im really glad I read thru the book because it would have been totally inappropriate and confusing to the child. Under normal circumstances, this would be an ideal book for an adopted child to read. Sorry.

This is a fabulous book to start conversations with children and students about something everyone has had happen. It is written in a very eloquent way.

The last time our grandson came to visit he told us he wanted to read to his grandfather and me. I did not have a book on hand that a second grader could read, so I have bought this to keep on hand for his next visit. Jamie Lee Curtis' books are all entertaining and cleverly illustrated and most appropriate for children and adults to share.

It is a cute story, but does not relate to our child's adoption story in any way.

This book was beautifully written and illustrated. The story will be incredibly helpful for families who have adopted from China, however, my criticism is that there is no mention at all about fathers. In fact, I believe now, single mothers can no longer adopt from China. I gave this as a gift to my friend who just adopted and we talked about editing as they read it to their new daughter to add the father into it. All in all, this book was very sweet.

If you are thinking about Chinese adoption...or have adopted...this is the perfect story for you and/or your child to read! Beautiful words and beautiful pictures!

This is an excellent book and I received in such good condition I gave it as
a gift.

The other night I was at a friend's house and had the privelege of having her 9 year old adoptive son read me this book! We talked about the pictures, how they reminded me of China and the orphanage my in-laws frequently visited when they lived there, and we talked about how the baby's Chinese Mom would like to know her baby was safe and happy, just like his birth mom knows he is safe and happy.
As someone considering adoption, I was deeply touched by the book, and since my young friend chose it to read to me, he too obviously likes it. I am grateful to this author for sharing her experiences and feelings in such a beautiful, heartwarming book!

I didn't like it. Story was silly and stupid. It writes like a first grader, very choppy. There are such great stories out there with nice happy meanings - this was just a woman who wanted a child, nothing really special beyond that. Sorry, not sure what the big deal is about this book.

I enjoyed reading this memoir of twins who found each other at age 35. I read it in two days because I couldn't wait to find out how their relationship developed and whether they searched for more information about their shared history. This book also includes a smattering of information about twins and twin studies. I highly recommend it!

I heard these two sisters being interviewed on National Public Radio one day while driving home from a stressful day at work. I was stunned by their tale and I decided I had to read their book. I ordered it on Amazon and within days was reading the tale of two identical twin sisters who had been so unfairly separated at birth and yet who had thrived to become two very strong, talented, and compassionate women apart from each other.

I will admit I felt drawn to them not because I was a twin or adopted, but because I have a sister who is almost a decade younger then me and whom I barely knew as a sister until our mother died. The 10 years between us suddenly faded away and we had to "find each other". This book is about two individuals, two women, two sisters finding each other.

I loved reading their tale of uncovering the mystery that shrouded their adoption and the horrible "experimental" decision to separate them. I kept thinking of those sad little toddlers missing each other at such a young age. I loved that they were able to learn about their birth mother... and that they were able to meet their birth uncle. Although he was a bit of a disappointment. But that's real life.... and this is a real life story.

I recommend this book to all sisters. There are some great incites into sisterhood and family.

I had heard about this book from some neighbors and thought it would be a perfect xmas gift for my mother in law who loves memoirs. I read a couple pages the day I bought it and was hooked! Now I had to finish it before xmas(and turn the pages gently). I finished it in less than a week. Identical Strangers is a such a special, unique story of twin babies (now women) and have already recommended it to 3 people. I commend the authors/sisters for sharing their personal and sometimes painful experiences. And I loved that they could find humor and laughter in the journey as well. ###

Captivating is the best way I can describe Identical Strangers. This book was selected for our book club and was the best one I have read all year. My only regret was that the book ended! The format of a dual narrative made for an organized and easy read, the authors' raw honesty helped define their characterizations that involved me from the start. I hope to see Elyse's and Paula's story on the big screen someday. With the holidays coming up, this is a perfect gift to give and/or receive!

Elyse Schein always knew she was adoptive, but it wasn't until she was thirty-four that she decided to contact her adoption agency and ask for identifying information about her birth-mother. What she found out was stunning - she had an identical twin sister. The adoption agency had deliberately separated them as infants to study the question of nature vs. nurture. Elyse contacted her sister, Paula, and the two of them began a strange journey together of understanding who they were, and how much of that came from the nine months they spent together in their birth-mother's womb. This is a fascinating, surprising, and deeply honest story about two strangers who became sisters.

Okay, we can forgive Mrs.Rinaldi for giving Emily a funny last name because this was an excellant book!! Lincoln's assination, Grave Robbing, Lies and Deception and Hangings!!! And poor Emily in the midst of it all!! I highly recommend this book.

This book was good. I have been reading it for a few days and I have not been able to put it down. It is a bit long though. It is about a girl named Emily whose mother is very sick. Well she finally dies and so the girl goes to live with her uncle eventually where she learns a horrible secret about the man who has always been there for her and has given her a home. Finally, Emily must make a decision that will have a very big impact on her life

This book was an awesome book by Ann Rinaldi. This story takes place during the time right after Lincoln was assinated. A girl named Emily has a mother who is deadly ill. Her mother knew that she was about to die and she told Emily that she needed to live wih someone. Emily wants to live wiht her aunt in Philidelphia, but her om wants her to live with her good friend next door. Emily's uncle Valintine comes into town to see Emily's mother. Valintine tries to tell Emily that she needs to come live with him. emily's mother doesn't want Emily to go live with him. Emily decides to go visit her uncle. While she is there she meets an old crazy black lady that lives upstairs. She tells Emily that her uncle has a big secert and that Emily needs to help get the old lady out. Emily is told that the big seceret is in her uncle's shed where NO ONE is allowed. To find out the secert you have to read this awesome book!!!

I love all of Ann Rinaldi's books, but this is surely one of my favorite. It has a very interesting plot that moves along at a good pace, and many characters that bring a lot to the story. The main character, Emily, sees things in an interesting and informative perspective, as many of Rinaldi's narrators do. Due to her circumstances, she is living with her Uncle Valentine and learning for herself what all his medical practice consists of. She is witnessing what happened to Washington upon Lincoln's assasination, and she conveys this all to the reader very well. Rinaldi works in a love story, making Emily's interest one of the main characters, as she normally does, without taking away the true meaning and grit of the story, as many other authors do. The book also has a lot of action and a lot of facts. Though I don't normally read historical fiction, Ann Rinaldi writes so well that she has become my favorite author. I would recommend this along with all of her other books to anyone who asked.

Emily Pigbush is an orphan. In the first few chapters of the book, she loses her mother, and her father is long gone from the war.She is left to live with her best friend Annie, the daughter of Mary Surratt.That night, there is a great outcry in the city of Washington, where Emily lives. Mr. Lincoln, the president, has been shot dead. Emily is even more stunned when she hears who had done it-- the man who had been staying with the Surratt's, John Wilkes Booth. The Surratts are thrust into investigation for connection to the murder. Emily is sent to stay with her rich uncle instead, Valentine. She gets along well there, until she uncovers a sinister secret from a woman staying in the house -- her uncle could be a bodysnatcher. She pursues the idea, quietly, until she is confronted at school by a reporter's daughter. Her fears are confirmed when she sees the proof with her own eyes. She loses herself in her own emotions; love for Robert, a man Valentine saved, hate for all of them.
A very good illustration of the Civil War and the unjustly accused.