Scan barcode
roseleaf24's review against another edition
3.0
Well-written. I hadn't heard a Tennessee view of the Civil War before. A boy is strongly on the Confederate side after Yankees take everything his family has stored up for the winter. His brother, though, leaves to join the Union Army. Chris find himself in difficult situations because the Confederate sympathizers he's surrounded by assume he's a Yankee sympathizer.
k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
3.0
A Newbery Honor book. It got off to a slow start for me, but then I found myself drawn into the main character's development from bitterness to greater understanding. It still isn't really a 4 star book, but 3.5.
e_ramirez_ortega's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
I liked this one better than Across Five April's. The audiobook is wonderful.
tcbueti's review against another edition
4.0
Captures the conflicts of a civil war beautifully. 11-year old Tennesseean Chris resents Yankee pilfering of the food he's worked so hard to grow and gather; when his older brother joins the Union army, Chris is angry and ashamed. His efforts to get back at the Yankees bring him to a full experience of the horrors of war, and of the humanity of both sides. And has he caused his brother's death? In a relatively short book, over the course of a few days, Steele states his case: war makes people do things they shouldn't. Vivid and suspenseful, an approachable classic for fans of Hatchet and Woods Runner. NB chapter 13 battle is briefly graphic.
chava81's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tamarayork's review against another edition
4.0
Newbery Challenge 144/412. Unlike Across Five Aprils, which is a good overview of the Civil War, The Perilous Road offers a snapshot into the war from the perspective of a boy in Tennessee whose brother leaves to fight for the "wrong side" (Union Army). I enjoyed this because it takes place very close to where I live in Tennessee. I don't know if I would have like it quite as much without that similarity. The perspective was just a bit too small, more of a vignette, in a war that had a very wide scope. If you live in TN, I recommend it. But if you are just looking for a Civil War book for middle grades, I would recommend Across Five Aprils or The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg over this.
tealmango's review against another edition
3.0
Read the full review on my blog: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-review-perilous-road/
It’s a somewhat simplistic story: a young boy hates the Northern army but soon discovers that most of them are just like him and his family–hungry, cold, and wanting to go home and stop all this fighting. But it works. This book captures the feeling of being a kid, old enough to form strong opinions, but too young to see others’ perspectives. The Southern accent portrayed in the dialogue is also spot on–and I usually hate written accents! It’s not my favorite Newbery book, but it is certainly enjoyable. Take a look if you or your kids are into Civil War-era literature.
It’s a somewhat simplistic story: a young boy hates the Northern army but soon discovers that most of them are just like him and his family–hungry, cold, and wanting to go home and stop all this fighting. But it works. This book captures the feeling of being a kid, old enough to form strong opinions, but too young to see others’ perspectives. The Southern accent portrayed in the dialogue is also spot on–and I usually hate written accents! It’s not my favorite Newbery book, but it is certainly enjoyable. Take a look if you or your kids are into Civil War-era literature.
triscuit807's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars. This story set in the hills of Tennessee during the Civil War is less about war than about the poisonous nature of hatred. Chris Brabson hates and loathes Yankees after they steal his new-made deerskin shirt. That hatred blossoms when Yankee foragers take his family's horse and winter supplies. He is dumbfounded when his brother Jethro decides to join the Union army. Chris has questionable taste in friends and makes numerous stupid plans, enacting several, but somehow manages to survive. "Like I told you before, war is the worst thing that can happen to folks, and the reason is it makes most everybody do things they shouldn't." I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (52 wks "book with a foreword/intro"-by Jean Fritz, 1990 edition) and my Newbery Challenge (Honor 1959).
kristy81846's review
3.0
I read this with my 5th grader as part of her Language Arts curriculum. We didn't love it. The characters were southern farmers and it was hard to understand what they were saying more often than not.