In My Father's House

In My Father's House
Rinaldi, Ann

New York: Scholastic Inc., 1993

Annotation: The McLean family is a legendary story. This was the family in whose home the Civil War began and ended. Rinaldi takes a close look into their lives and tries to retell the story from Oscie's point of view as she grows from a skinny mischievous girl into a young woman. While the war surrounds her and her family she endures the loss of her first love (a married Southern gentleman) and learns at a young age her power over the slaves on her father's plantation. Her suspicion towards one of the slaves leads to great tragedy and she is unable to forget that even as a small child she can bring so much pain to another individual. While she butts heads with her step-father, the very same Mr. Roy McLean, throughout the book's progression she learns to understand and respect him as they form a companionship and become partners that try to save their family from the war and all its repercussions.

Reason for Rejection: While the book was able to present a solid picture of the problems with the Civil War and its effects on families all over the South, from starvation to deaths in the family to loss of property, it tried to paint a pretty picture of an event that was not so pretty. The neatly packaged situations that the McLeans endured seemed too unrealistic to be possible as this was a time frame that did not allow for ease and comfort.

Genre:
Historical Fiction (Extra Credit)