I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe–297 pages
Book Blurb:
Rosetta doesn’t want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they’ll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she’s always worked by her father’s side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she’s told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier. Rosetta drills with the men, prepares herself for battle, and faces the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Fearing discovery of her secret, Rosetta’s strong will clashes with Jeremiah’s as their marriage is tested by war. Inspired by over two hundred and fifty documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta’s powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman’s amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life’s challenges side by side.
My Review: 4 stars
Click here to order on Amazon!
I wish I understood why I love stories when female characters disguise themselves as men. I must have some faint feministic views of anything he can do, she can do too, because this is one of many books I’ve enjoyed with this premise. The two main protagonists in this story are young, in love, with big hearts and even bigger dreams. Their romance was believable yet without any sappiness, as that wouldn’t befit the characters. The author did a great service is helping the reader imagine the fields, the smoke, the cold and mostly the randomness that surrounded these farmers as they stood up to be soldiers in the Civil War. Boys became men during this war and as I learned from the author, so did the women.
Quotes I liked:
The silence between us feels like a sheet of window glass and it aint something I know how to break. And I’m too tired to fix it if I do.”
– “We aint got words for each other and we just stay like that, alone for a while, our eyes saying what needs to be told…”
Shop on Amazon Here!
