HATTIE'S WAR

In this debut middle-grade historical novel, a teenager seeks the truth about her father.

Harriett “Hattie” Alanson Howell is only 14 years old but has already experienced major loss. When Hattie was 10, her closest sibling, Jennie, died of an illness. Hattie’s father, Hannibal—a successful sign painter who, like Hattie, loved to draw—was killed in the Civil War shortly before her birth. All Hattie’s mother will say is “I pray he had a good death.” As a teenager in New York state’s Finger Lakes area who battles depression, which she refers to as the “Raven,” Hattie decides to look for answers on her own. She begins corresponding with her Uncle Byron, Hannibal’s brother and the only war survivor in the family. Byron not only enlightens Hattie about the good man her father was—he joined the Union Army to fight racism on the home front—but also encourages the teen’s own artistic gifts, even paying for her to attend Atelier De Luca, a prestigious Ithaca art program, when she is 17. After graduation, Hattie must decide between further study or the opportunity to become a sign painter—and whether she can withstand a trip to Gettysburg, where her father perished. Serko’s engaging novel was inspired by his own ancestors—Hattie was his great-great-grandmother and Hannibal his great-great-great-grandfather—as well as a family trip to Gettysburg in 1970 when the author was 16 and first learned of the Howell side of the family. The book contains a host of kid-friendly resources to provide context, including key facts about the Civil War, illustrations by Leslie, historical and family photographs, and a recipe for the molasses cookies that prominently appear in the work’s first chapter. Hattie is an intelligent and thoughtful young hero, wrestling with mental health and discovering her creativity while navigating life in a brand-new landscape. Her story is both relatable and inspiring for the novel’s target audience.

A sentimental and satisfying tale about a teen in post–Civil War America.