Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 by Kristiana Gregory

1 review

peytonktracy's review

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emotional informative slow-paced

3.0

There was a long gap between finishing the last Dear America I read and this one because this one was just so... boring, somehow? I felt that there were so many story bits and either traumatic or at least dramatic moments, none of which got the attention they really deserved. They were glossed over quickly, maybe because what would be traumatic to me was commonplace then, but none of them felt like they really informed Abby's character, her desires and motivations, her fears, anything at all. She felt very much the witness, the narrator, and not a character as much as other Dear Americas didn't. This one also felt like it was name dropping: Abby managed to meet George and Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, Benedict Arnold, Henry Knox, even British General Howe, which just felt somewhat forced, though I know all these character did spend the winter in Valley Forge or Philadelphia. However, one of the positives I will give this book is the sluggish pace of war, particularly in winter, and that daily life happens amidst major historical events. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Abby's sisters and brother and their antics, or how she hated doing laundry, even though I'm sure Abby would tell her children and grandchildren, and would be passed down through the ages, that she did George Washington's laundry. Maybe her character will flush out more in the sequel? 
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