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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Civil War combat and death; realistic but appropriate for middle grade and up
Language
Barely any
Mild period language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Some
Themes of loyalty, moral ambiguity in war, and the discovery that the enemy is human
What this book is about
Jeff Bussey enlists in the Union Army at sixteen and ends up behind Confederate lines as a spy — fighting with both Union and Confederate Cherokee forces before the war ends. Harold Keith's 1957 Newbery Medal winner is distinguished historical fiction about the Civil War's lesser-known western theater, notable for its moral complexity and its depiction of Cherokee soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Civil War violence
Moral complexity of war
Reader Verification
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