Bull Run by Paul Fleischman

Unfortunately, my hopes for enjoying a war novel were not met. More than anything, I think I failed to have sufficient background knowledge to fully understand the story. While I have heard of all the locations listed and have a vague idea of where they are (Northern Virginia), I don't have a good enough understanding of where they are in relation to one another. Additionally, my knowledge of the Battle of Bull Run is almost non-existent. I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but it's true! Because my background was limited, I had a difficult time following the events of the battle.

I also found the changing voices difficult in Bull Run. At first, I was excited that I would get to hear from characters more than once. At first, I was able to keep track of them all. But, later in the book, I started confusing characters and had to stop numerous times to look back and remind myself about the character's story and whether they were Northern or Southern. These difficulties really diminished my enjoyment of the story.

I did appreciate having many different perspectives on the first battle of the Civil War. I was able to glean that individuals had many motivations for entering the war. Fleischman also explored that many Northerners were not accepting of African Americans even though they were fighting, in part, for the freedom of slaves. Gideon Adams experienced racism as a free Northern African American, and Charlotta King discovered that Northerners would not give her free passage if she escaped. As a child, I had the misconception that only Southerners were prejudiced against African Americans during the time of the Civil War. Many of today's children probably also have the same misconception. This book could help to clear up their understanding. The characters who only incidentally experienced the battle were interesting as well. It is not often that one hears about the illustrators, entrepreneurs, or spectators who are involved in historical events.