THE CIVIL WAR OF AMOS ABERNATHY

A middle schooler connects with the past and his present.

Amos Abernathy is a history buff. He loves working at the Living History Park in Apple Grove, Illinois, where volunteers reenact activities of daily life in the 19th century. Half the novel takes place in the latter months of 2021 (minus Covid) using the form of letters that Amos writes to Albert D.J. Cashier, a 19th-century trans man, in which he struggles through his crush on the closeted, but very cute, “Freaking Ben Oglevie.” The other half takes place over the course of one day in 2022 as Amos, who is White; his Black best friend, Chloe (a straight girl training as a blacksmith who has her own satisfying side plot); and others scheme their way into making the historical attraction more diverse and welcoming. The execution of the plot, which revolves around a stalled romance and kids planning a presentation, reads less as an organically unfolding story than an opportunity to investigate queer history, White privilege, and how to fail at allyship and then redeem yourself. Amos, who consistently names the identifiers of major and cameo characters alike, often feels more like a model for good behavior than a real 12- and then 13-year-old. Educators will wish that this was nonfiction with lesson plans; middle-grade audiences may yearn for more story and fewer lessons.

An educational title that may appeal to young historians.