Jeanne Williams

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Gr. 6^-9. Originally published in 1962, this historical novel explores the Civil War from an unusual angle. Seventeen-year-old Vin Clayburn is in Texas, working on a wagon train that is transporting cotton from the South to market via the Mexican border--the only route still open to the blockaded Confederacy. He is constantly torn between fufilling his duty to his family (some of the cotton is from the Clayburn farm, and his parents are depending on the money) and wanting to fight for the South. His older brother, also with the wagon train, isn't as bothered; he soon abandons Vin and the cotton for the battlefields of Virginia. Adding to Vin's confusion is a fellow wagoneer, Jare, a Quaker who is opposed to war and won't even defend himself when attacked. Vin's turmoil occasionally boils over into melodramatic inner monologues in which he tries to sort through his burdened conscience. Fortunately, these moments are few, and they are nicely balanced by the vivid portrayal of a journey made dangerous by harsh terrain, outlaws, and Union soldiers. Randy Meyer