Description:

Johnny made a promise to his father, who was wounded fighting for the South. He promised to take care of the family and not run off to fight. Without Pa, Johnny’s family can barely scrape by. But when there’s an offer to take his mules and wagon on a bold mission to supply the Rebel troops, Johnny can’t resist. Then he’s captured by a Yankee—Cush, a runaway slave. Johnny doesn’t like taking orders from a black. But he’s got no choice. He’s bound for prison camp, tormented by his broken promise and wondering what will become of his family and himself. **

From Publishers Weekly

The Collier brothers ( My Brother Sam Is Dead ) here paint a strong, affecting picture of the Civil War era, of the grueling work and privations of the home front as well the chaos and carnage of the battlefield. When Pa is wounded in action in 1864 and comes home to die, he extracts a promise from Johnny, the book's 14-year-old narrator, to stay on their farm in Virginia and look after the family. But a few months after Pa's death, Johnny undertakes a dangerous mission to bring food into besieged Richmond--and maybe avenge his father's honor. Instead, he and the family's team of mules are captured by Blue Coats; even worse (to him), the soldiers are black, and the youth suffers the ignominy of taking orders from a former slave his own age, Cush Turner. At first Johnny takes advantage of his captor's kindliness, but ultimately he becomes friends with Cush and even saves his life. When the war ends, Cush and Johnny set off toward home together, the latter observing, "For sure it is going to be a long time before kids of slaves and kids of slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood," but adding that staying friends is worth a try. The sensitive treatment of this unlikely relationship recalls Patricia Calvert's equally fine novel, Bigger . Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Like Patricia Beatty's Turn Homeward, Hannalee (Morrow, 1984) and Paul Fleischman's Bull Run (HarperCollins, 1993), this title gives readers a vivid portrayal of the Civil War. Johnny, 14, promises his dying father that he'll stay on their Virginia farm with his mother and younger sisters. The opportunity to strike a blow against the Union Army is irresistible, however, and the boy convinces his mother to let him join a wagon train carrying food to Confederate soldiers. He has been brought up to believe that all blacks are stupid; thus, when captured by a black Union soldier about his age who insists that Johnny teach him to read, he deliberately tricks him. Reaching the Union camp, Johnny is surprised when Cush saves him from imprisonment; as the novel concludes, he saves Cush's life. Richly drawn, the two boys exhibit many of the foibles found in people everywhere, and their developing friendship is believable. Authentic battle scenes add spice to the story. A two-page foreword discusses the use of the word "nigger" in the book. Sure to become popular.
Jo-Anne Weinberg, Greenburgh Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.