MG Novel Recommendation: The Civil War of Amos Abernathy
I’ve been keeping my eyes open for great MG and YA novels that combine marketable ideas with outstanding execution.
About The Civil War of Amos Abernathy
The Civil War of Amos Abernathy (HarperCollins, 2022), a debut middle grade novel by Michael Leali, is one that I highly recommend.
For much of his life, Amos has volunteered at the Chickaree County Living History Park (in small-town Illinois) as a historical reenactor. The park’s focus is the 19th century, with the U.S. Civil War being an important part of the park’s programming.
When Amos, who is white, cisgender, and openly gay, realizes that the stories of LGBTQ+ people are missing from the park, he goes looking for evidence of their existence.
And that is how he learns about Albert D. J. Cashier, a Union soldier from the U.S. Civil War. If Albert had lived today, he might have identified as a trans man.
Amos has a tough battle ahead to persuade his divided town that Albert’s story should be told.
Why read this novel
This novel was compelling for several reasons:
Amos’s efforts to make history more inclusive resonated with me. I love seeing history through different—especially under-represented—points of view. Way back in college I took a women’s history class that was so eye-opening. Everyone deserves to see themselves in history.
Amos’s experiences living in a small town in the Midwest rang true. Amos describes it as “semi-rural.” As a fellow Midwesterner, it’s nice to see this region portrayed realistically in a novel.
Amos tells the story partly through letters to a dead person—Albert D. J. Cashier, the Union soldier—an interesting take on the epistolary novel.
In addition to the letters, which Amos writes over the course of one year, readers are also privy to Amos’s thoughts during the course of one important day at the living history park—a structure that grabbed me.
The author, who identifies as white, cisgender, and gay, tackles homophobia, racism, and sexism head on. He lets his kid characters struggle with these issues in age-appropriate ways, including dealing with well-meaning, flawed adults.
Like Amos, the author was also a volunteer historical reenactor as a kid. This story is personal to him. And he shares its evolution in a detailed author’s note.
Since I wanted to know even more about how Michael Leali crafted this book, I reached out through his website to see if I could interview him about it. After we get that scheduled, I’ll share the results in a Q&A.
In the meantime, if you have an outstanding MG or YA novel to recommend to me, especially if it’s a debut, please let me know! bookcoach@micheleregenold.com
One way to hear about great books for kids and teens
I heard about The Civil War of Amos Abernathy through a virtual “book birthday” event. The Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts hosts these events to share new books by alums. They’re free and open to the public: https://vcfa.edu/event/wcya-book-birthday-parties-4/2022-09-21/