Soldier's Heart: Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers

Soldiers Heart

If you like a good book, then this is the book for you. This interesting book is about a 16 year old teenager, Charlie who joins the army. He was supposed to be 18 to join the army, but he knew his voice was getting deep enough to trick the army into thinking he was older. He fights three battles, but regrets ever joining, believe me. He is struggling to survive. He sends money he earns back home to his brother and his mom. He hates the war. I can relate to this story because I play paintball. When I paintball it feels like I am in a war. The paintballs fly past me. In the book, it describes how lead musket balls flew past Charlies and he was terrified. When I play it reminds me of that part in the book. Soldier¿s Heart is a real good book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

soldiers heart

Gary Paulsen has a great way of telling a story of a young man named Charley who was in a war in which he had to fight. He saw his officer, lieutenant, fellow soldiers and friends. There was a lack of food for the soldiers. Most food was given to the sick. Charley and the others were usually hungry. At the slight chance that he would be able to eat he would get nauseous. When he had filled his canteen one dark night he found out that there were dead bodies in the stream and that his canteen had a pinkish color in it. Charley has a way of not dying and he is very lucky. Every day he hears bullets and gunshots and people screaming and dying but yet he still has the strength to move on and live through it. Charley has a hard time getting through the hardships and the fact that all of his friends are desperate to get home and are hungry. The doctor of the camp told him to find meat for the sick and injured. The camp had already eaten through the cattle. All that was left were the eleven rebel horses¿ Charley and three other men killed the eleven horses. Charley was sad to do it because he liked horses and grew up with them. They killed and skinned the horses. Charley and the men fed the horse meat to the sick and told them it was cattle. They knew it wasn¿t but ate it anyway. After feeding the sick, Charley and the others set off for battle. He can tell that he is getting close to battle. As Charley rode to battle he discovered that he had gotten a lot better when he tried to figure out how big the battles were. If there were a lot of sounds that meant it was a big battle, a few shots meant that it was small. This battle was big. As the battle continues, Charley thinks he gets shot in the shoulder. It turns out to be another mans blood. After this battle the troops march to Gettysburg. Charley survives the battle of Gettysburg. He was twenty-one and was happy in Minnesota. I would recommend this book to the people who like war stories and historical fiction. Children under the age of thirteen should not read this book because of the gore and violence. Gary Paulsen is a good author and he works are great to read

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

English Festival 2011 Book

This book is one of the 7 required reading books for the English Festival.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Stellar Book!

This is one of the few books ive ever read because I don't find reading very fun, but this book was amazing and since I'm very intrested in history this book was easy for me to understand. The author did a great job of showing the setting and didn't use too much or too little dialog. The book kept my attention the whole way through. Even tho the ending was a happy one. It kept me thinking. I deff. recommend this to everyone because its easy to read and gets your attention.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great turn in a view of history!

Ok, I simply loathe history. It's a subject I can't stand learning or reading about a boring past that has nothing to do with me here. Even though I do get straigh A's in ALL subjects, I can't seem to do much for history. However, this amazing book has put a turn in my view of the civil war. I though the civil war was a boring subject to learn about, but this book is so attractive, I finally understand some part of history! I really wish there were more interesting books explaining history for those who are troubled.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

AWSOME

i thought this book was incredible! it was very touching i loved it ive read it like 3 times already i was sad when it ended.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Book's Good.....Carry On!

What would you do if you were fifteen and war broke out? Would you lie about your age and join the army? I wouldn¿t. That is exactly what Charley did in this realistic fiction book, Soldier¿s Heart, by Gary Paulsen. Charley was in a time of extreme racism and prejudice. Charley joined the army to see more of the country and to become a man. Little did he know that this experience would change his life forever. Many of his friends that he made, he lost in the war. . Paulsen writes Soldier¿s Heart based on a true story. Charley actually was a real person. He actually suffered these wounds. The timeline of Charley is true except for some added details. Paulsen hooked me on this masterpiece, I could hardly put it down. It is full of excellent details. I thought I was actually in the Civil War right there next to Charley. I recommend Soldier¿s Heart to anyone who loves to read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

awesome book

Soldiers Heart, a book writen by Gary Paulsen, is about a 15 year old boy named Charley who joins the war because he wants to become a man. Charley fights in many battles. He goes from Winona, Minnesota to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Charley was a changing boy -- in some of the battles he was a good fighter but, in other battles he was a worried boy. My opinion is i thought charley was going to die in all the battles that he got hit with all the bullets.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

What a Book

The book 'Soldiers Heart' was an ok book . Gary Paulsen made this book an anti war book. He used many good description words. He also used many diferent actions to make you fell like you are there. Charliey was the main character. He lives in Winona, Minnesota. He went away from he small town tp sign up for the army. He was only 15 years old and lied about his age to he can sign up for the war. He signed up because he thought it would make him a man. He went though many mounths of tranning. Then he went to go fight in his first battle. The Rebels killed many of the people in the first battle. They called this battle the Battle of Bull Run. This book makes you fell like you were there. This is a good book by Gary Paulsen.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Review

Awesome book!!!!!

Such a good book!!!!!

This book is soooo good i even did a book report on it. Great book!!

Great book

This book was awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! will always love it

Mediocre, Too Played Up.

As an avid reader, I've scarcely ever hated a book. I consider myself to be good at seeing the light in even the dimmest of stories. I read this book because it was on the list for The Assembly of Literature Among Adolescents, an English festival I will be attending come March. I tried very hard to find heart in this novel. The book is played up to be very heartfelt, touching, and emotional; the story of a young boy and the struggle of his heart. However, I saw none of that in the story. I felt that Paulsen wrote in a rather mediocre style, more as a sort of bland documentary of a war already too glamorized in the media. I saw no emotion whatsoever in this utterly forgettable story, a story that, mind you, SHOULD have been quite meaningful. I recommend this book to the most naive of readers, looking for information and simplicity, nothing more. Do not pick up this book if you are looking for an inspiring, well written story that will TRULY illustrate the cruelties of war. This book will not do that for you.

Amazing

I read this book for school and i loved it by the end. It actually goes by very fast. His facts are accurate too.

Another great boook for boys & girls

Paulsen's books are great! My sons are dyslexic, these books have been such motivation encouragement my youngest has gone from the lower 5% to the upper 97% in reading in just 1 semester, Thanks Gary!

good book

Soldiers Heart by Gary Paulsen is a historic fiction book. If you are interested in history about the civil war then this is a good book for you. Charley is a 16 year old who wants to join the army, but he needs to be 18 to join. He lies about his age and he knows that his voice is getting deep enough to trick the guards. After he got enlisted he fought in three very brutal battles and bloody battles. He sent the money he earned back home to his mom and his brother.

The most suspenseful book I ever read

Introduction- It is about a boy named Charlie who wants to join the war but is under age. So he lies about his age to fight in the war. He goes to get his cloths and trains until it is time to leave. When it is time to leave he rides a train to the field were the fight begins.


Description and summary of main points- The book is for readers that like suspense, action, and a great story. The author has written many other great books such as Tracer and Hatchet. When the author wrote this he used a lot of enthusiasm when he wrote this book. If I were judging this book I would give the best one because he gives lots of detail, suspense, and passion.


Evaluation- I think that the author made a vivid description of what he was trying to tell in his story. The character, Charlie, is tall, strong, and is a hard worker. He seems to go alone with everything in the story. The setting takes place in Mississippi in an old town. The theme of the story is that even that you may be 15 or 16 you may be old in experience.


Conclusion- So all together the book achieved its goals and it told you what it was trying to say. It is a really great book and the main points in the story are the best part of the story. So if you have to get a book get this one.


Your final review- I would recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense, detail, or a great story then they should read this book. I would recommend this to any age group.

A Battle of a Time When Life Was Hard

A 15 year old boy named Charley Goddard wants to enlist in the army.He enters, lying about his age, with the First Minnesota Volunteers. Charley finds out that the army was very different then he expected. He doesn't the gore of batlle and hates seeing his friends go down.
This book made me want to read more, it was very interesting and exciting.

Life in a soilder's heart

I believe that the author¿s purpose in writing this book was to show just how hard it was for the soldiers in the civil war, like the lack of food, knowing tour death is over the next hill, never knowing if your going to see your family ever again or just being warm or full again. I believe that the author intended on teenagers to read this book because it is educational and still attention grabbing. Charley 'the main character' told the story, Charley Goddard really existed. He enlisted in the first Minnesota Volunteers when he was fifteen, lying about his age and fought through virtually the entire war. I believe that it is important that Charley tells the story because he lived in it. Everything in this story is believable in my opinion. I say that because it was about a war that really happened during the right time period. It was very accurate to real life and it was very descriptive. The character that I connect most to in this book is Charley because I remember the first time I went to play paintball with my friends I was a little scared but the fear went away after the first shot I took, pretty much the same thing with Charley. He was scared but after he got into it he was fine. I believe the author was very successful in getting his goals across because this book taught me more on the Civil War. For an example, I did not know that there were so many men that died within a minute. This book reminds me of the movie The Patriots because of all of the gruesome killing. Between the book and the movie they had practically the same fighting methods. The significance of this book title is that it was in Charley¿s heart to become a soldier and be strong and to survive the war. I would recommend this book to my father because he likes to watch shoot-em-up kind of movies so he would probably like to read this book. I found this book to be engaging and enjoyable. I say because this book caught my attention and kept it more than any other book I ever read. I did agree with the message because war is gruesome and it defiantly showed that in this book. The ending was good. It leads me a place thinking that something was going to happen but thankfully nothing happened. I would give this book five stars because it was a book I enjoyed reading. I actually wanted to read accept for watching television, and that hardly ever happens.

Soldier's Heart

'Some men came through combat unscathed. Most did not. These men were somehow different....They were said to have a soldier's heart.' -Soldier's Heart. It is this, that a fifteen-year-old Charley Goddard must come to learn...and experiance. Through his book, Soldier's Heart, the author, Gary Paulson expresses the need for us all, young and old, to not grow up too fast...and be who we are. Soldier's Heart takes us to Winona, Minnesota, at the very beginning of the american Civil War, where we follow Charley in his search for manhood, and his ticket into life. Through such a tragic time in history Charley begins to grow and understand. Though, before he may truly know, he must face the climax of his own life. At which, it will have already been too late. In the hope that we may learn from him and take somthing away from the book, Gary Paulson uses Charley to send a message to all of us, not to try and find our places in the world, but grow into it. I thought this book was a great historical fiction and would reccomend it to anyone, especially those ranging in an eleven-to-fifteen age range. Soldier's Heart is an amazing adventure which gives you the chance to think, for yourself. Take that chance!