An Island Far from Home

By John Donahue

Book Overview

Joshua Loring is the twelve-year-old son of a Union army doctor killed during the Civil War. This compelling novel conveys how Joshua gains new insights into the realities of war and the fine line between friends and enemies when he begins to correspond with a young Confederate prisoner. In the end, he risks his life to travel to the island where his new friend is held captive.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1575050765
• ISBN13: 9781575050768
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
• Length: 179 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 9 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 8

Customer Reviews

An Island Far From Home Book Review by Apurva

The corporal gasped. "I don't know what's going on here boy," the sergeant said gruffly, "but I'm going to have to lock you up. No!...No!," said Joshua frantically. " Don't lock me up. I have come to see Major Pennington. He wouldn't let me come here so...so I had to sneak in."In John Donahue's, An Island Far from Home, Joshua, a 12-year-old boy from the north in the Civil War writes to a rebel and travels in an adventure. The rebel, John Meadows, was caught in Fredericksburg and was taken to George's Island, a prison. Joshua's uncle, Major Pennington, was the in charge of the prison. He asked Joshua to write to John. At first Joshua didn't want to write a letter to a rebel but on his uncle's behalf he wrote one letter to John and he was eager to write more. While writing together they began a friendship. As their friendship grew stronger they were yearning to meet each other. Joshua was not allowed in the prison. So Joshua sneaks in.Anyone who likes historical fiction books will love this one. For fourth graders it will be a review of the Civil War. It will also be a good book for people who are interested about the Civil War. John Donahue has won medals for other books he wrote.

A Great Book

This book was a great book. It told what it was like through war when you are a kid. Josh didn't go to war but he was a friend of a Conferdate Soldier. Read this book. It is great

A book to read!!!!

This book was like a book taking you back into the time of Civil War Times. But you weren't where the fighting was you were at the prison were captives of the south were.

A Sunshine State Young Reader Award winner

A wonderful retelling of the Civil War from the veiw of a Union boy, this story gets down to the real grit of the matter and covers a less-acknowledged part of the War Between the States: the prisons. Joshua Loring and his frined Tom Hogan are truly believeable characters, the first step to keeping a reader engaged. But when you add the drama of the war as well as the conflict Josh faces in writing to a Confederate soldier and actually learning to like the other boy, the text is just addictive.