Yankee in Atlanta by Jocelyn Green - REVIEWED

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Yankee in Atlanta River North(June 1, 2014) by Jocelyn Green

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jocelyn Green is a child of God, wife and mom living in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She is also an award-winning journalist, author, editor and blogger. Though she has written nonfiction on a variety of topics, her name is most widely recognized for her ministry to military wives: Faith Deployed. Her passion for the military family was fueled by her own experience as a military wife, and by the dozens of interviews she has conducted with members of the military for her articles and books, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives and its sequel, Faith Deployed...Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives. She is also co-author of both Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front (forthcoming, May 2012). Her Faith Deployed Web site and Facebook page continue to provide ongoing support, encouragement and resources for military wives worldwide.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When soldier Caitlin McKae woke up in Atlanta after being wounded in battle, the Georgian doctor who treated her believed Caitlin's only secret was that she had been fighting for the Confederacy disguised as a man. In order to avoid arrest or worse, Caitlin hides her true identity and makes a new life for herself in Atlanta. Trained as a teacher, she accepts a job as a governess to the daughter of Noah Becker, a German immigrant lawyer, who is about to enlist with the Rebel army. Then in the spring of 1864, Sherman's troops edge closer to Atlanta. Caitlin tries to escape north with the girl, but is arrested on charges of being a spy. Will honor dictate that Caitlin follow the rules, or love demand that she break them?


My Thoughts:

“He had shown her the way out before.  Perhaps He was doing so again.  But to be indebted to a man grated on her to no end.”  (p. 37)

Caitlin McKae is a strong character in Jocelyn Green’s latest novel Yankee in Atlanta. She winds up in Atlanta through a series of very unusual circumstance, and Atlanta in 1862 is not the safest place to be.

“War had taught him that God didn’t always show him the way around trial.  Sometimes, He showed him the way through them.”  (p. 43)

Edward Goodrich serves as a chaplain during the war, and yet he experiences race riots in New York – far from where the battle was raging in the South.  He also must navigate relational circumstances that are almost as tricky as the war itself.  As it turns out he is related to Caitlin’s family.

Then there is Ruby and Aiden, Noah and Ana…such a rich cast of characters!  And through their eyes you literally experience the horror that was the Civil War.  You will learn intimate details of the grueling life circumstances that many faced as war raged around them.   Noah has such a precious heart toward his daughter and faces such a struggle to decide which “side” he should serve on.  Then he must struggle against his feelings for Caitlin, and that just complicates things further.

There is such intricacy in this novel!  Every character, ever situation, they all, ultimately, are woven together to build toward a very satisfying conclusion.  But, be warned, the Civil War isn’t a pretty place to be, especially as it marched through Atlanta!  I think it is fascinating that there was a time when people in the South thought that Atlanta would be spared.  Really.  Fascinating!  And then to learn about the illnesses that felled many, and the sheer brutality of the living conditions of many is such a sobering reminder of the many, many, many lives that were lost to create our United States of America!

I don’t want to give away plot details, but suffice it to say, you are able to experience the separation, the heartache, and the emotional and faith discoveries on both sides of this war.  And you realize the willingness to give their life for the cause was very strong on both sides.  A more intriguing time in our nation’s history has not existed since…but the fact that Civil War once raged through this nation should make us all grateful for the sacrifices made for our freedom.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Yankee in Atlanta, go HERE.