Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy

A Must Read

My nephew requested a book about the Civil War. This book sounded like a winner. I read several other reviews on Behind Rebel Lines and they were all very good!

Especially great to read with a young-adult!

Behind Rebel Lines began in our home as my 13 year old son's classroom assignment and ended up being an engaging read with lots of depthful conversation. My son isn't a book worm per se, but when something's really good he'll read the entire thing in a sitting, be it a day or a weekend. He had misplaced his original copy, so I went off to buy a second one. He was so caught up in the story, he was literally calling me on my cell phone to see if I'd found another copy yet. Even though I'm a member here at B&N, I confess to first going to the book store closest to me. They had nothing, so off I went the extra mile which paid off... of course, they had it. My son finished it that night, and began telling me about it and how I should read it. I was so glad I did, as I found it extremely well written and engaging. We had some precious conversations about the characters and humanity. This is a great book to discuss with young minds who are still learning about our world.

Lovely Exhibition of Female Involvement in the Civil War.

The incredible story of Emma Edmonds was wonderfully told by Seymour Reit. Reit portrayed Miss Edmond's courage and willingness to serve and protect the Union in the best way possible. Women did their part during the Civil War by sewing and caring for the sick, wounded, and dying. This wasn't enough for Emma. Reit tells of Emma's exploits in her early days as she lived them: hard and fast. The first months were routine and passed quickly for this reason. Reit briefly tells of this time and sets the background for the rest of Emma's story. He uses simple diction and syntax to progress the plot quickly, reflecting the fast-paced life at war. He goes into a bit more detail when the events in Emma's life get more and more serious and life-threatening. Reit extends crucial periods in Emma's life like when she breaks down after learning of her childhood friend Lieutenant Vesey's death and confides in Mrs. Butler, the chaplain's wife. Mrs. Butler becomes the confidant of Emma and someone who helps the heroine with crucial events and decisions. Mrs. Butler objects when Emma wishes to replace the Union spy that was captured, reflecting the views of what a woman's place was in society. Whatever dangerous mission Emma was sent on however, Mrs. Butler was always supportive of her friend. She was also supportive of Emma's most dangerous mission which took her into controversial Kentucky. There her mission was to snuff out a Confederate espionage operation without meeting the same fate as her predecessor. The brief summary of the mission is followed by Emma's illness of malaria which caused her to go AWOL in fear of her secret being discovered. Edmonds told of her actions and alias during the war in return for Franklin Thompson being cleared as a deserter and honorably discharged. This book shed light onto a magnificent young woman and her willingness to go beyond the female options to help the Union and put her life on the line.

The most advencher filled book ever

Behind rebel lines is educational and interestiing. It gives you an inside vew of the Civil War from a girl insted of a man.Seymour Reit made the story of emma come to live in a way all generations can enjoy.Emma's story is so thrilling you fell as if you are there and your emotions change as she goes on the missions. The book is a reall "CPD" cant put down.

A great heroine...

Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit is an account on Emma Edmonds during the civil war. Emma disguised herself as a man so she could join the Union Army. She was very patriotic, so much as to risk her life a country that wasn¿t her birthplace. The book tells an accurately historical story of the events that took place, as she became a spy for Lincoln¿s army. She undergoes many obstacles and hardships while she is undercover in the south and performs things that leave you in awe. Her bravery and courage made her of the great heroines of the past.
This book was surprisingly enjoyable. It doesn¿t seem like much of a tale from the size of the book and its subject, but after the first few pages you realize you were wrong. There is plenty of action and suspense going on as Emma utilizes her mastery of disguise and espionage. You are kept on your toes knowing that at any given moment Emma could be discovered and her life taken.
The whole book is pretty much derived from her own memoirs so you know you are getting the real deal. All of the things going in the book were the things that Emma herself experienced. It¿s an awesome feeling when you know that what you¿re reading actually happened a few years ago.
From reading this book you will pick up quite a bit of information on the time of the Civil War. You¿ll learn about a women¿s role during the time and hopefully come to appreciate and contrast heroines of the past.
The book was an easy read. Simple vocabulary and fast moving plot. Scenes are faintly described, but level of detail is appropriate for the book¿s level.
The dialogue is fairly dull and can be quite boring. It has been adapted to fight the time period, but there isn¿t much uniqueness in the way that it reads. This hurts the characters¿ development, but not so much as to leave them without an identity.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for quick and easy read. It would seem that a good age group for this book would be kids between ten and thirteen.
The book packs quite a punch in just a few pages and it¿s definitely worth checking out.

absolutely fantastic

It was written very well. It caught my attention everytime I read. I always wanted to keep reading.

Great Book

this book was so great I loved it!

Don't like books, but loved this one!!!

I HATE reading books, but I was forced to read this one. I LOVED IT!!! I must have read it over 10 times. Read it!!! It has you on the edge of your seat....and I didn't want to put it down.

a very poor book

i think this book was very monotonous. i wouldnt recommend it to ,anyone even adults. im a student of a catholic school and for a certain report we had to read a type of nonfiction book soo my teacher recommended this book which i thought was great but really wasnt.im just suggesting to the publicnot to buy this book because you are just going to waste $6.00. its not worth it.

Best book ever!!!

It is the best book i ever read! i would recommend it 2 evryone. It helped me understand so much more about the civil war and those kinda things. I would give this book a million stars if i could!

I loved This Book

Oh My Gosh....i loved this book!It was so incredibly cool!I mean The First Sentence Came and i was glued to this book!!!!!It realy incouraged me to be bold and brave.I gave this book 5 stars because it was soo heartwarming and so beautifull!Kids from at least 4,5,6,7etcshould read this book!I really liked it and i think you are Too!

A Must Read!

This book is great for both boys and girls, and all ages. I couldn't put it down!

Everyone should read this

This is a great book it helped me understand more about what happened during the Civil War. And with Great detail.

Great, clifffhanging story

the book was great it had great details and describiton

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