The Coffin QuiltBy: Sam JenningsThis book is called The Coffin Quilt. It is a historical fiction about the Hatfields and McCoys of Kentucky and West Virginia. This feud started with a pig that was stolen by the Hatfields. This book is about a girl named Fanny McCoy who tries to survive the feud. In the beginning there was a peaceful family living in the woods of Kentucky. They were the McCoy family. They lived near the border of West Virginia. In West Virginia, next to the border of Kentucky, lived the Hatfields. The Hatfield’s needed a hog for the winter. So they crossed the border and stole the pig from the McCoys After the pig was stolen, Fanny’s sister, Rosanna met Johnse. Rosanna decided to run away with him, hoping that their union would end the feuding, but they were not allowed to marry. Then a few months later, Roseanna had a baby. Her name was Sarah. She died of pneumonia before she was one. After Sarah died, Johnse went out with another girl. So Rosanna returned home, she was not accepted by most of her family, but her younger sister Fanny was glad to have her back.. The only problem was Roseanna brought home a coffin quilt. She was making it for her and Johnse. Each square had a name on it, when someone died you would move their square to the center of the quilt. The McCoys though it brought evil into their house. The Hatfields thought it was a way to keep track of who died. During Election Day, the Hatfields and McCoys met. Someone started talking about them. A fight broke out between the two families. One of the Hatfields was stabbed and one of the McCoys was shot. Everyone settled down. But not for long. tttttOne night Fanny heard a window break. She went downstairs and her kitchen was on fire! They were under attack by the Hatfield’s. Fanny’s sister, Alafair decided to get some water to help with the fire. She was shot. Fanny’s Pa and brother John ran to the barn to get better shots at the masked men. John shot one them and then they ran away. The McCoy’s house was burned to the ground. They built a new house farther from the border. Then Fanny’s Pa and his posse found some of the masked men. The Hatfield’s never came back.Overall I really enjoyed this book. The only problem is that almost the whole book talks about Roseanna and Johnse. All the other important parts aren’t that long. I would rate this book 4 stars. I recommend this book to someone who likes history, action or romance books.
This is another enjoyable book by Ann Rinaldi. I really like her style of historical fiction writing. It is clear she spends a lot of time researching so that you can really learn something about history but the characters are still strong with enough details filled in to make it interesting. Her books usually have a clear theme running through them, instead of many smaller ones. And she almost always has strong female protagonists.The Coffin Quilt is about the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys. I had heard a teacher mention the feud six months ago and hadn't known what they were referring to. I'm glad that I now know about this particular even in history. Fanny McCoy is the main character and the narrator. She tells the story through a child's perspective from the beginning. Her sister Roseanna was one of the causes to start off the feud. Roseanna agreed to start dating a Hatfield boy. They think that if they get married it will unite the two families and they won't be able to hold a grudge because they love their children too much. Except his father won't allow them to get married and Roseanna's father doesn't want to speak to her again. Everyone in the family deals with the crisis and horrible acts in their own way. Some turn to religion, some to folklore, some revert inside themselves. I think the most striking thing about the book is how it seems so senseless that their was so much fighting and violence. Or just how it escalated to such levels. If there had been grudges and little acts like not speaking to one another at parties that would have seemed reasonable. But killing people and burning houses takes it way too far. But, once someone has started the other party wants revenge.
I thought the Coffin Quilt by Anne Rinaldi was a very impressive and informative book. Often times, I felt like I was being taken on a trip through the Appalachian Mountains alongside Fanny McCoy as we struggled to end the extreme and terrible fighting between the Hatfields and the McCoys. However, I sometimes felt like she was getting a little carried away with the mentioning of “yeller thing.” I think everyone knew that it was a made-up character and should never have been written in the book.I would give this book four out of five stars, and yes, I would recommend it to anyone.
—Patrick Davis Davis Davis
The Coffin Quilt , was about a quilt that the family had for generations after generations. For every death in the family they would stitch a coffin into the quilt. There were several people in the family, but the main character was Fanny. She was a really nice girl and always tried to help everyone, but her sister, Alifair, on the other hand, was a very rude and obnoxious girl. A lot of things happened in the family. A lot of things in the book involve things between the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. My favorite part of the book was when Pa told Roseanna how he really felt and made it perfectly clear of how everything was going to be from now on. I recommend this book to anyone who likes, detailed scenery, family drama, and anything that involves the past.
—♥mckinsey
I saw this sitting on the bookshelf in my coworker's classroom the other day and picked it up, despite never having heard of it before then. I've read a couple other Ann Rinaldi books, but this one particularly seemed interesting because it is about the Hatfield-McCoy feud, which is pretty fascinating. It ended up being a quick and interesting read. I love when I read historical fiction and it makes me want to go spend hours doing research to learn more about the book's topic. Case in point here: I now want to know all I can about the Hatfield-McCoy feud and what led to it. From what I gathered while reading, it was very violent and involved a lot of people. The McCoy family from The Coffin Quilt is huge and according to the author's note, she didn't even include all the kids! Crazy. But anyway, yes. Must satisfy my knowledge thirst soon. I love history.Even though the novel isn't long, it takes place over about 10 years. The narrator and youngest member of her family, Fanny McCoy, goes from 7 to 16, and it was neat to see how her understanding of the feud and her family changed as she grew. It was hard to be hopeful for anyone in the story, though, including Fanny, since it seemed like people just kept dying every other chapter. I didn't dislike the book, but I think I would have like it more had I known more about the feud before reading it.
—Kyle
