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Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Lisa Lewis Tyre

"We spent the summer figuring out a Civil War mystery and finding Gold!" page 80

Age Range: 9-12
Grade Level: 4th - 7th
Reading Level: 4.4
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books (September 29, 2015)
Rating: 4 out of 4

Summary
When the county announces that it is taking her house, Lou and her best friend, Benzer, endeavor to save the house by solving a mystery about a cache of Civil War gold stolen by her notorious ancestor.

Lou prays for an exciting summer and then she discovers that her family will have to leave their home because of an eminent domain issue with the city wanting to claim her family's land. This was not the excitement she was hoping for. Her best friends join her in figuring out how to protect Lou's home and in the process they discover a diary from the Civil War written by an ancestor she is named after - Louise Duncan Mayhew. Murder, thievery, heroes,The Underground Railroad, and the possibility of hidden gold are in the family history. They also begin to understand the role that slaves played in the Civil War and in their own family and how some of the prejudice still exists in their town today. 

The story takes place in the south in Tennessee and it has a humorous and madcap type of storyline. Each chapter starts with an excerpt from the diary of Louise Duncan Mayhew which gives you background to the history of the Civil War from a personal point of view. One of the characters I especially liked was the grandmother.  She is a funny, independent, and modern grandmother with plenty of comments and funny opinions. 

A touch of history, a lot of summer fun, and lessons to learn make this a good book for kids to read.  






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