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Hear the Wind Blow

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Hear the Wind Blow

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

“A first-rate story.” —Kirkus Reviews On a cold, snowy night, thirteen-year-old Haswell Magruder makes a fateful decision. A wounded Confederate soldier appears at the family’s Virginia farm, and Haswell convinces his mother to take the man in, despite the dire repercussions if the enemy Yankees were to catch them in such an act. Unfortunately, this sets off a horrific chain of events that leaves their house burned to the ground and their farm in ruins. With no home left, Haswell sets out in search of his older brother, a Confederate soldier. His quest is also a passage into manhood, as he experiences the last bloody days of the Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328740922
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/17/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	520,225
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.72(d)
Lexile:	700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Mary Downing Hahn’s many acclaimed novels include such beloved ghost stories as Wait Till Helen Comes, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, and Took. A former librarian, she has received more than fifty child-voted state awards for her work. She lives in Columbia, Maryland, with a cat named Nixi.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"a hard-hitting Civil War novel...honest grapplings with complex issues...will win readers' interest and sympathy from the outset" Publishers Weekly

"vivid and accurate portrayl of the period...strong setting...entertaining and thought-provoking...a strong adventure...that resonates with universal themes." THE HORN BOOK Horn Book

"A memorable journey...a boy whom readers will care about, a first-rate story...an essential addition to Civil War collections." KIRKUS REVIEWS Kirkus Reviews

"wonderfully written story peopled by believable, three-dimensional characters...fine storytelling and characterization hook readers from the onset...an excellent choice." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL School Library Journal

"brings readers up close . . . the action is fast and furious, and kids will be caught up in the story" BOOKLIST Booklist, ALA

"Even if the fiction shelves are drooping with middle-grade Civil War novels, find room to squeeze in one more." THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"well-written...Reluctant younger teens might find this book an easy, enjoyable read." VOYA (VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)

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Editorial Reviews

"a hard-hitting Civil War novel...honest grapplings with complex issues...will win readers' interest and sympathy from the outset" Publishers Weekly "vivid and accurate portrayl of the period...strong setting...entertaining and thought-provoking...a strong adventure...that resonates with universal themes." THE HORN BOOK Horn Book "A memorable journey...a boy whom readers will care about, a first-rate story...an essential addition to Civil War collections." KIRKUS REVIEWS Kirkus Reviews "wonderfully written story peopled by believable, three-dimensional characters...fine storytelling and characterization hook readers from the onset...an excellent choice." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL School Library Journal "brings readers up close . . . the action is fast and furious, and kids will be caught up in the story" BOOKLIST Booklist, ALA "Even if the fiction shelves are drooping with middle-grade Civil War novels, find room to squeeze in one more." THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "well-written...Reluctant younger teens might find this book an easy, enjoyable read." VOYA (VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) —

From the Publisher

Hahn (Stepping on the Cracks) crafts a hard-hitting Civil War novel narrated by a 13-year-old boy in Virginia. Haswell's father has died in the Confederate Army and Haswell's 16-year-old brother has recently enlisted, leaving Haswell with his religious Mama and seven-year-old sister, Rachel. As the story opens, Haswell shelters a badly wounded Confederate soldier, despite his mother's instructions to the contrary; she fears harsh Union reprisals if the soldier is discovered in their home, and her fears are brutally realized. The soldier is discovered, and the family farm razed, amid a turbulent series of events that include Haswell's mother's death. Haswell sets off with Rachel, astride a Yankee stallion, in search of their grandmother and, later, their brother. With his bravery and his honest grapplings with complex issues, Haswell will win readers' interest and sympathy from the outset: "I wanted to believe in the glory of war, but so far all I'd seen was soldiers burning farms and stealing food from folks who needed it just as badly as they did." As arrestingly as Haswell and Rachel are portrayed, however, the adults here seem flat; they, too, make difficult choices, but they do so without the children's natural ambivalence. The broad characterizations of the supporting cast detracts from Hahn's otherwise balanced approach to a war with victims-and heroes-on all sides. Ages 10-14. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 5-8-Through the eyes of Haswell Colby Magruder, readers see and experience the horrors of the Civil War. Set in Shenandoah, VA, the story opens as the 13-year-old agrees to hide a wounded Confederate soldier. The Yankees' discovery of the young man on the Magruder farm and their subsequent retaliation starts a sequence of events that culminates with Haswell's escape with his seven-year-old sister, and his later solo journey in search of his older brother, who is fighting in the war. Although the main characters are from the South, Hahn succeeds in writing about the horrors of war without really taking sides. War is the villain here, and people from both sides are its victims. This is a wonderfully written story peopled by believable, three-dimensional characters who exhibit fear, courage, love, hate, compassion, prejudice, and understanding. The drama of the Civil War and the fine storytelling and characterization hook readers from the outset. As in Promises to the Dead (Clarion, 2000), Hahn deals here with the exercise of compassion in the face of danger. This selection is an excellent choice to add to other historical fiction on the Civil War such as Gary Paulsen's Soldier's Heart (Delacorte, 1998) and Ann Rinaldi's Amelia's War (Scholastic, 1999).-Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Toward the end of the Civil War, much of northern Virginia is a wasteland, houses and farms destroyed, the smell of smoke lingering in the air. Now the war has reached 13-year-old Haswell Magruder. When a young, wounded Confederate soldier--pursued by Yankees--rides into his family’s life, he sets in motion a chain of events that changes their lives forever. With their house burned to the ground and the farm in ruins, Haswell and his sister must set off on an odyssey across war-torn northern Virginia to find safe haven with relatives. Haswell is an effectively drawn character--too young to fight, but old enough to understand his place in a country at war with itself. Through his eyes, readers see the consequences of war better than any exposition of dates could provide. A memorable journey in the voice of a young boy whom readers will care about, a first-rate story, and an essential addition to Civil War collections. (map) (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

Hear the Wind Blow

Hear the Wind Blow

Paperback(Reprint)

Paperback(Reprint)

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About the Author

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