The Last Full Measure

by Ann Rinaldi

Overview

This novel of a girl and her family in Gettysburg as the infamous Civil War battle begins “brings a piece of history to life” (School Library Journal).
 
As Confederate and Union soldiers take over their town, the residents of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, can do little more than hunker down in their homes while cannon and gunfire explode around them. But the battles are not only fought between soldiers. At home, fourteen-year-old Tacy worries about the safety of her African-American friend and locks horns with her disabled brother, David, as he yearns to go to war, frustrated and angry about sitting by while others do the fighting.
 
But circumstances will soon bring both David and Tacy into the aftermath of this great and terrible battle—whose soldiers will not be the last to make the ultimate sacrifice…
 
“A beautiful blend of hope and tragedy…this novel once again shows the author’s skill at giving historical events flesh and heart.”—Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547505442
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	01/16/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Lexile:	650L (what's this?)
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

ANN RINALDI is an award-winning author best known for bringing history vividly to life. A self-made writer and newspaper columnist for twenty-one years, Ms. Rinaldi attributes her interest in history to her son, who enlisted her to take part in historical reenactments up and down the East Coast. She lives with her husband in central New Jersey.

Editorial Reviews

"Rather than a political statement or a gory battle, this lyrical novel personalizes the war, showing the risks of friendship with free blacks, terrifying nights of shelling, and the grief and pain of loss. A beautiful blend of hope and tragedy. . .this novel once again shows the author's skill at giving historical events flesh and heart."—Booklist 

"Rinaldi's extensive research brings a piece of history to life, and her fans will not be disappointed."—School Library Journal
"Valuable and well-researched. The details are poignant. "—VOYA —

From the Publisher

Gr 6–8—In the summer of 1863, Tacy Stryker and the other residents of Gettysburg prepare for the Confederate Army's offensive. While her two oldest brothers and her father are serving in the Union Army, the 14-year-old and her mother have been left in the care of her 21-year-old brother. David resents the leg injury that caused the militia to reject him and takes out much of his bitterness on his younger sister. As the Rebels begin to occupy Gettysburg, Tacy's friend Marvelous, daughter of free Negroes, whose family is one of at least 400 "darkies" living there, comes to stay with the Strykers. When a Confederate soldier threatens to sell Marvelous into slavery, only the kindness of the commanding officer prevents her from being taken. Pa comes home from the front soon after with news of the terrible battle and the bodies waiting to be buried. When he is too ill to return to the field hospital, David and Tacy go in his place to help with the identification and burial. What seemed to be a safe way of assisting turns deadly when the brother of one of the buried turns up to claim him and David will not allow the man to illegally dig up the corpse. Unlike Lisa Klein's Two Girls of Gettysburg (Bloomsbury, 2008), which focuses more on the months leading up to the event, the attention here is on the battle and its aftermath. Despite stilted dialogue, Rinaldi's extensive research brings a piece of history to life, and her fans will not be disappointed.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

School Library Journal