Two Girls of Gettysburg by Lisa Klein

Klein, Lisa. Two Girls of Gettysburg. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008.

Lizzie and Rosanna are two cousins on the brink of womanhood when the war between the North and the South starts. They both live in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but Rosanna is from Richmond, Virginia.

When her father and brother join the army, Lizzie finds herself with plenty to do. The family's butcher shop is loosing money. Instead of attending the ladies' seminary to become a teacher, Lizzie finds herself working in the butcher shop.

After the death of a boy she thought she loved, Rosanna returns to Richmond. The suitor she left behind is still unattached. They marry and he goes off to fight for the Confederacy. When her husband is wounded, Rosanna comes to nurse him. She ends up staying with the army as a nurse.

Lizzie and Rosanna's stories soon converge. The end of their story is not, however, the end of the war. We see them through only until the Battle of Gettysburg.

What I thought: I liked that the story is told both from Lizzie's and Rosanna's points of view. It gives added dimension to the story. The historical detail was fascinating. I kept guessing until the end about what would happen. There's nothing I dislike more than a predicable book. Though the book is almost 4oo pages long, it reads quickly.