The Details
Across the Great Divide by Michael L. Ross
Publisher: Elm Hill
Published: 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction, Civil War, YA, Christian
Pages: 380
Series: yes, book 1 of 2
Available: Paperback, Hardback, Audible, ebook
Sex: ❤ no
Violence: 😨 yes

My Review
Reviewer’s Note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Plot in Brief: This is the story of Will Crump and his family of Kentucky. As the threat of civil war grows in a divided America, each member must analyse their beliefs and decide how they feel about the institution of slavery and choose a side.
The Characters: I enjoyed getting to know the family. Will is the main character. A young man on the edge of adulthood, he’s loyal, smart and learning what it is to make a choice and stick with it. His sister each find a way to play a part in the anti-slavery effort through very different channels. It’s always nice to see women portrayed as heroic and patriotic. I also appreciate the story of the slaves and their escape to freedom.
The History: I can appreciate that an enormous amount of research went into the writing of this book. I definitely learned more about the Underground Railway and the part Kentucky played in the war.
The Writing: Well-edited and written. The pace was a little slow for me to begin with but picked up as the war started.
Overall: I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to readers of historical fiction. Although considered a YA book, I think it will appeal to adults as well.

The Crump family live in Kentucky in the years leading up to the civil war. We follow the fortunes of its members, in particular Will, Julia and Albinia. Will finds himself under an obligation to Captain Morgan, who is pro-slavery - should he follow and support him as he feels he's pledged his word to do, or stand up for what he (or at least his family) believes is right? Julia is determined to escape life on a farm, and marries Hiram, whose family owns a steamship company. But when Hiram enlists in the Union army, Julia is left at home to try to do her part - whatever that might be. Albinia falls in love with the secretary of Mr Garrison, anti-slavery activist. When she sees the horrors of slavery first-hand, she's determined to help them escape - but it's a dangerous business: will she get through the war alive? Divided by war, will their family ever be the same again?

I wanted to like this - but the further I got, the more I just wanted it to be finished. The idea itself was intriguing: following the fortunes of a family divided by war; but I felt like the execution didn't come up to my hopes. Having said that, it's still a thought-provoking read, but it could be so much better. I think my biggest problem with the book is that it tries to cover too great a scope in too short a space, which meant that increasingly it felt like a looking at series of snapshots or video clips (and towards the end, newspaper articles) rather than being immersed in a story. The story itself has potential, but because it covers so much, it didn't feel like we really got to know any of the characters - which was a shame. I could see Julia and Hiram's story being a good novel on its own, but because it was cut down and interspersed with the doings of other family members, it felt quite distant. I also found that the writing got increasingly 'choppy' feeling, particularly in the last 20% or so - again, covering less would have allowed more depth and fewer threads to tie together. In summary, I feel that this book on its own could be turned into a good series, but as it is, it was just okay. Based on the first half, I would have rated this 3 to 3.5 stars, but the second half unfortunately knocked it down to 2.5.

Content warning: it's a novel based on war and slavery, so it's probably not surprising that there's violence and torture. It's not overly graphic or forming too large a portion of the story, but it may be more than some readers are comfortable with.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.