Set in Mississippi after the Civil War, this gripping historical novel tells of the bitter struggle among poor whites and the horrifying rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Twelve-year-old Addy O'Donnell, hungry, needy, and mischievous, relates the story in a spare present-tense narrative. Abandoned by her parents, she finds a home with her newly married teacher, Frank Russell, whose story was told in How I Found the Strong (2004). At times there is too much history and message woven into the story. The hate drama is compelling, though, and it becomes very personal when Addy witnesses a child murdered during the burning of a black school and discovers that her own father is the perpetrator. The simple prose can be pure poetry: They are one of us. They are who we are . . . He is my poppy. He is who I am. Readers will be drawn by the history close-up and by the elemental moral choice: doing good is hard, doing nothing is the easiest of all. Connect this with stories of Holocaust perpetrators.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2007 Booklist

Set in backwoods Mississippi during Reconstruction, When I Crossed No-Bob, a companion to Margaret McMullan's How I Found the Strong, stars 12-year-old Addy, who struggles with being abandoned by her mother. Addy's folksy and keenly observant narration strongly sketches the economic, racial and class tensions of the era, and balances these with her attempts to find happiness. (Houghton, $16 216p ages 10-14 ISBN 9780-618-71715-6; Nov.) n (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 4-8-Set in rural Mississippi during the hard years of Reconstruction, this novel follows the life of 12-year-old Addy O'Donnell. Abandoned by her parents, she is taken in by a pair of newlyweds, in spite of Mr. Frank's concern that the O'Donnells are "trouble." Addy knew hunger and mistreatment in No-Bob, the hollow claimed by her notorious extended family, but she feels a loyalty to them even as she begins to thrive in her new surroundings. Life takes another unexpected turn, though, when a new friend is killed in a church burning perpetrated by the newly formed Ku Klux Klan and then Addy's father shows up a few days later to take her home. Addy loves her pappy, but back in No-Bob, she begins to see the truth of his actions and nature and she realizes that she is going to have to make a decision that will determine the course of the rest of her life. While there are countless novels set during the Civil War, few focus on Reconstruction. This era in which the South was forced to reevaluate itself serves as a handy metaphor for Addy as she reevaluates her own life. McMullan fills her engrossing, character-driven story with well-chosen details that paint a clear, believable picture of a time long past. This will make a fine addition to libraries seeking to expand their historical fiction offerings.-Adrienne Furness, Webster Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.