Book Review: I Shall Be Near to You

Winter, 1862: Work on the farm never ends, rumors of war are coming ever nearer, the Union army is recruiting in a nearby town, and Rosetta is getting married. But when her husband enlists, leaving her in his parents' house where she is expected to do ladylike chores rather than the farm work she prefers, and with no defense against the threats of a land-grabbing neighbor, Rosetta decides she can't stay where she is. She cuts her hair, dresses in her husband's old clothes, and follows him into the army disguised as a man.

I Shall Be Near to You is a novel based on hundreds of letters and accounts by soldiers who fought in the Civil War - including over two hundred women who impersonated men to join the fight. With enriching historical details and deceptively simple prose, the story follows Rosetta through her efforts to stay hidden, conflicts with her husband and friends, and to the battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of the war. A page-turning and heartbreaking work of historical fiction. - Michelle (Sunset)