Soldier Boy

by Brian Burks

Book Overview

This gripping historical novel set during the final years of the Indian Wars explores army life in the American West as it details one boy's struggle to become a man.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152012192
• ISBN13: 9780152012199
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.2" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Soldier Boy was exciting and wonderfully written.

Soldier boy is the story of a boy named Johnny "The Kid" who joins the cavalry to get away from his manager and some thugs who are trying to kill him because he wouldn't throw a game. Johnny finds himself as a private in Custer's cavalry getting ready for the spring when they will go after the Sioux Indians in the Black Hills. Soon he will be fighting again, this time for his life. I liked Soldier Boy because it gives a personal and realistic view of what being a soldier in Custer's cavalry was like. Also you normally hear that Custer's men loved him, but in this book you learn that his men didn't like him. Soldier Boy gives an inside view of what being in the cavalry was like. It shows that it wasn't all gallantry and riding but it also included things like doing the dishes and playing pranks. Soldier Boy was a exciting and wonderfully written book. From the saloons to Custer's last stand, Soldier Boy is a great book for all ages.

A good book

This book made me want to learn more about the old west and how we fought the Indain wars. It is a historicly acuret book with great details.

Soldier Boy is a story of great meaning.

Soldier Boy is a very good book. It is based on the history of the Civil War. The book came from a view point of one character's experience. The writer, Brian Burks, detailed the story from the research he had done. The story has a great significance in how it can affect so many people's lives. It may be short, but it has a lot to offer. It actually gave me a sense of experience itself instead of a sense of just history. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history. I think the book is worth the time to read.

LIKED IT. DISAPPOINTED WITH THE REVIEWS.

I enjoyed this book for the novelty of the plot. A tough kid, running from his past, is recruited into the cavalry. He has much to learn about himself and western expansion. He is the victim of pranks within his division and must prove his manhood in a showdown of sorts. I know of no other books for youths that present the cavalry in all its unglory and ignorance. The reviews fault Burks for not providing more historical detail to the routine within the ranks, but sometimes this works against the book, making it less appealling to the intended age group. The review also point out an abrupt and somewhat ambivalent ending. I counter this again with the intended age group. As adults we can emotionally read about long suffering, the gore of war, and the pain of death without repercussion. I believe author Burks was trying to avoid this, and cannot fault him for that. Ending the book as and where he did, he left it up to the reader to decide how much they wanted to ponder Johnny's death and the Battle of Little Bighorn.