My Top Ten Books #1

My Top Ten Books is a series of short book reviews. My next post will be my honorable mentions.

The #1 book on my list was written by Nancy Gentry, Tod Comes Home.

First a little background on the story. The Carter family was living peacefully in their home in Franklin, Tennessee, (now known as The Carter House) when the Battle of Franklin started to come together literally right at their front door.

Skipping through part of the book- Tod Carter finds out that his regiment is marching towards Franklin! So naturally he asks if he could leave the regiment to go home for a little while to see his family. He is told that he could leave whenever he wanted. He was going home! He also agreed to bring along James Cooper, another Franklin native. So they left the camp and started on their way to Franklin. James led Tod to his cousin's house and Tod was glad of it. It reminded him of his own home and it gave his horse a needed rest. After an hour or so Tod and James went on their way. After dark they make their way to the Neely's home and ended up finding out that the Yankees got past his men on the pike. Neely said that they weren't safe there but they could stay as long as they needed. But Tod decides that it is just not possible to go home, especially with Yankees right on his front lawn. He told James that they needed to go back to the army but James said he was going all the way to his home. They shook hands and James left.

Tod moved on as well, just in the opposite direction. He came close to the pike and heard soldiers walking. But who? It would be logical for the Tennessee boys to be on the road but they hadn't stopped the Yankees back down the road. So it could be either army. Tod puts a blanket over him to cover his uniform and walks closer to the troops.

Which side are these mystery troops on? And will Tod eventually see his family? All these questions will be answered if you read the book.

This, along with the last book on my list, is my absolute favorite book of all time. I've owned it for around three years I think and have read it at least three times. I'll probably be reading it after writing this review. Even though I know the ending of the book it will most likely never be boring to me. And it's a true story! That is probably part of the reason I like it soooo much! Make sure to read the epilogues at the end. And maybe you should take a trip down to Franklin, Tennessee to see the Carter house and other cool buildings that were there during the Civil War. I've been there and can tell you, it will not disappoint.

So if this book sounds interesting to you here is a link to buy it, https://www.amazon.com/Tod-Comes-Home-Nancy-Gentry/dp/0986024473/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472487008&sr=1-1&keywords=tod+comes+home 

My Top Ten Books: #2

My Top Ten Books is a series of short book reviews.

The top two books on my list aren't really ranked because they are my all time favorites. With that said the #2 book on my list is written by Romaine Stauffer, Aaron's Civil War.

This book is based on a true story, every character but one or two was actually a real person. Romaine Stauffer is a descendant of the family in the book.

The Stauffer family lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on a farm. Aaron's father has just died and it has been a rough time without him. But -skipping through time a bit- Aaron's mother eventually remarries Abraham Brubaker and that's when things started to change even more than it already had. The Brubakers lived in Snyder County which was a days trip away. When Aaron heard that his mother was moving there he didn't like it. Then when he heard that his brother Enos was going too, and Aaron had to stay and help his older brother David with the farm. He hated it even more. “I've been pushed around all my life, somebody is always telling me what to do, when to do it, and where to go. I'm sick of it,” thought Aaron. Skipping through time a little more- Aaron is now sixteen and the Civil War has been going for two years now. Aaron and a couple of his friends meet in the barn next to the church meeting house and talk for a little bit and then they all end up agreeing to go to Camp Curtin, the troops training base. So a couple nights later Aaron meets with his friend on a road off his farm, they wait for someone else but when he doesn't come they move on. As they start to see the outline of buildings in the small town they hear someone running up to them, they turn around and see......... Well you'll just have to read the book to find out.

I don't even know where to begin with this book it is sooo good. But I'll try and put it into words for you. This book tells the story of someone who sees “glory” (the war) and wants it, but finds out it isn't glory at all. It's just gory and not good whatsoever. After the war, Aaron struggles with the thought that he might have killed someone and that not even God can forgive him. It becomes his own personal Civil War. And make sure to read the epilogue at the end. It tells some more about what happened after the end of the book that's really interesting.

If you think you might want to read this book here is a link, https://www.amazon.com/Aarons-Civil-War-Romaine-Stauffer/dp/087813705X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472141272&sr=8-1&keywords=Aarons+civil+war+romaine+stauffer

My Top Ten Books: #3

My Top Ten Books is a series of short book reviews.

The next book on my list was written by Carolyn Reeder, Shades of Gray.

Now don't get this book confused with the movie 50 Shades of Gray because this book is completely different than the movie. It's actually a story based right after the end of the Civil War.

The main character, Will Page, has to go live with his Uncle and Aunt because his entire family died during the war. Will comes into his Uncle's household thinking that he was a traitor for not fighting for the South even though he didn't fight for the North either. So you can pretty much see where this is going. Will doesn't like his Uncle, so when he tells Will to call him by his name right then and there Will vows to himself that he will never call his Uncle by name... EVER. So the time passes and Will starts to see that his Uncle didn't fight because he was a traitor or coward but because his Uncle simply didn't believe in what the war was fighting for. At least that's what Will was told. But he was never going to believe it! He would never call his Uncle by name right? Or would time mold Will?

Well you'll just have to read the book to find out!

I would highly recommend this book to all the history lovers out there. Even though the story might be fictional it tells what a lot of families had to go through after the war. And I'm not talking about thinking that your Uncle is a traitor. I'm talking about the struggles the war brought for the well being of farmers and a lot of other occupations in the South.

If you would like to read the book, here is a link,https://www.amazon.com/Shades-Gray-Carolyn-Reeder/dp/0689826966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471884462&sr=8-1&keywords=shades+of+gray