It’s not long before some officers learn of Sarah’s true identity, and at this point, the novel takes an abrupt turn. But Sarah sees and does things in battle that will change her forever. Sarah holds her own through the long marches in ill-fitting shoes in the heat, and unlike many men, she manages to survive the First Battle of Bull Run. She knows she can never return home, so she uses her strength to her advantage, dresses as a young man, and joins the army. Excitement erupts as war brews between the North and the South, and it is in the midst of this chaos that she does some serious thinking about her future. Sarah is meant for bigger and better things, and with her mother’s help, she escapes to her aunt’s shop in Flint. Sarah expertly rides horses and can shoot a gun to put food on the table, so it’s not surprising that she resists her father’s efforts to marry her off to a widower who is just as bad as her father and merely wants her to care for his children. Rinaldi tells the story of a fictional Sarah Louisa Wheelock, a teenager longing to escape her family’s Michigan farm and her abusive father.

Civil War Reading Challenge because Ann Rinaldi brings to life two women featured in another book I read for the challenge, Petticoat Spies by Peggy Caravantes - Rose Greenhow and Sarah Emma Edmonds. I’m glad I saved Girl in Blue for my last book for the U.S. It’s only twenty-two miles to Alexandria.”Īs he did, Sarah saw that his blouse was shot away and his shoulder had a gaping wound. But before she was there a minute a soldier came by.

In My Father's House by Ann Rinaldi