"Finding My Place – One Girl’s Strength at Vicksburg" by Margo L. Dill

This delightful and insightful historic fiction tells of thirteen year old Anna Green and the trials she and her family faced during the Civil War when Vicksburg was under siege. The book is written from Anna’s viewpoint and gives insight into how a young girl might have perceived what was happening during this time of conflict.

Though a fiction, the writer has been true to the historical accounts of what the citizens of Vicksburg had to endure when the city was being barraged with artillery fire. Caves were dug out and became home to many as their houses were no longer safe to indwell. The basic provisions of food and clean water were scarce, and the story relates the lengths to which the people of Vicksburg had to go to simply survive. Anna and her family had to endure an especially difficult tragedy in the midst of what was already a very difficult situation.

In the end, Anna proves to be a girl who has grown in confidence and courage and finds inner strength that heretofore she had not realized she possessed.

I highly recommend this book to middle school aged readers as an excellent means of learning about our country’s history during this tragic period of the Civil War while enjoying a story full of suspense as well as incredible heroism. (reviewed by J.La Tour)

Author: Margo L. Dill -Join me on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Editor-911-Margo-L-Dill/346210516982

• Finding My Place, middle-grade historical fiction,White Mane Kids, October 2012 - To view lesson plans, writing prompts, historical facts, and more, go to this spot on this blog: http://margodill.com/blog/category/finding-my-place-by-margo-dill/
• Maggie Mae, Detective Extraordinaire and the Case of the Missing Cookies, picture book, Guardian Angel Publishing, TBD
• Lucy and the Red Ribbon Week Adventure, picture book, High Hill Press, Publication date TBD