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1 of 1 copy available
Emily’s mother always told her that she should avoid Uncle Valentine, a doctor, that he was involved in things she shouldn’t know about. But after Emily is orphaned—as Washington, DC, is in chaos due to the end of the Civil War—she has nowhere else to go.
Now, in addition to coping with the loss of her mother, the fourteen-year-old finds herself involved in two mysteries. First, she wonders about her best friend, Annie Surratt, and the Surratt family. Annie has a signed picture of the handsome actor John Wilkes Booth in her room—but there seems to be more of a connection between Booth and the Surratt family than Emily thought…possibly including the plot to kill Lincoln. At the same time, Uncle Valentine’s odd behavior leads Emily to suspect that he is involved with body-snatching.
As dark secrets swirl around her, Emily must figure out who she can trust, in this suspenseful tale “with a wealth of interesting background information” (Publishers Weekly).
“Rinaldi has woven two interesting plots here into a fine coming-of-age historical novel....Makes readers feel as if they are living in history.”—Booklist
“A vivid account of the moral ambiguities surrounding body snatching—for medical research—at the close of the Civil War.”—Publishers Weekly
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
January 16, 2020 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780547351216
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780547351216
- File size: 674 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 3.6
- Lexile® Measure: 520
- Interest Level: 6-12(MG+)
- Text Difficulty: 1-2
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Reviews
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March 29, 1999
PW cited the "impressive" research and "fast-paced and dramatic" plot that make this a vivid account of the moral ambiguities surrounding body snatching--for medical research--at the close of the Civil War. Ages 12-up. -
September 29, 1997
Rinaldi's (The Second Bend in the River) latest excursion into American history is set at the close of the Civil War and focuses on the struggles doctors faced in obtaining cadavers to do research. As her readers will expect, the plot is fast-paced and dramatic, with a wealth of interesting background information. The main character, 14-year-old Emily Pigbush, has a crush on neighbor Johnny Surratt, one of the men accused of abetting John Wilkes Booth in President Lincoln's assassination. During the course of the book, Emily loses her mother to consumption (her father has died in the war) and sees the Surratt family torn apart (Johnny flees to Canada, his mother is thrown in jail and eventually hanged as an accomplice). Her uncle, a well-respected doctor, is suspected of body-snatching, and her countrymen turn into rabble-rousers thirsty for blood and money. Predisposed against her uncle by her mother's mistrust of him, Emily discovers that he has lied to her repeatedly and may be breaking the law to do his work. Rinaldi's research is impressive, and readers will appreciate her afterword describing how she has melded fact and fiction. Nevertheless, some of the moral ambiguities here, e.g., whether or not the lies Emily's uncle tells her are justified, may be disturbing. In the end, Emily finds self-esteem and acceptance in her uncle's household only when she proves that she can aid in the body-snatching activities herself and chooses to look beyond the lies he has told her. Ages 12-up.
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