Historical Fiction Book Review: THE FIGHTING GROUND

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Avi. 1984. THE FIGHTING GROUND. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0397320736

2. PLOT SUMMARY
When Jonathan woke up on April 3, 1778, he expected to follow his boring normal daily routines: help is father on the farm and daydream about being a solider, but what he didn’t know was how just 24 hours can drastically change a person’s life. Just about everyone in his family had been a solider, and at the age of 13, Jonathan was ready to take up a gun and fight against the British and the Hessians (Germans). The only thing standing in his way of becoming a solider was his father, who had already been to war, came back injured and didn’t want his son to go. However, has warning bell rings over his town to warn of a possible attack, Jonathan, with his parents blessings to only go to town to hear the news, gets thrown into a makeshift regiment of men lead by Corporal to fight against incoming Hessians.

Jonathan’s excitement quickly turns into horror during the first battle when he gets separated from the regiment and captured by a group of three Hessian soldiers. Communication between the soldiers and Jonathan is strained because the soldiers only speak German and Jonathan only speaks English. With both parties really unable to understand each other, lets both sides be able to speak freely about what is happening, which reveals that even in the midst of war the Hessians are just as frightened and scared of Jonathan has he is of them. Captured by the Hessians, Jonathan is forced to follow them where they find an abandon house, where they take shelter for the night.

At this house they find a murdered family and a frightened little French boy. Jonathan immediately thinks the Hessians killed the family and plots a way for him and the boy to escape capture. During the midst of Jonathans escape, he has the opportunity to kill the Hessians, while they sleep, but Jonathan was unable to do it. He grabs the boy and runs until he finds part of his regiment that had retreated before. Jonathan then leads his regiment to the Hessians who lay asleep in the cottage. Jonathan’s regiment kills the Hessians, and later Jonathan finds out that the Hessians did not kill the French family, it was actually the Corporal who did because the thought they were spies for the British. Jonathan then returns home 24 hours later with a greater understanding of war, why his father did not want him to fight, and happy to be alive.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Avi has written a gripping historical novel, told over a 24 hour time period on the days of April 3 and 4 in 1778. One of the most compelling parts of this book is the fact that when Jonathan is captured by the Hessians and they are unable to communicate due to the language barrier, this allows the characters to really talk freely about their feelings and lets the readers know what they characters are thinking about their current situation. This reveals to the readers that both Jonathan and the Hessian soldiers have the same feeling about the war. Jonathan and the Hessian solders are both scared, confused and feel all alone. To help the readers feel Jonathan’s confusion, Avi used German writing to in the text in the places where the Hessians are talking amongst themselves and to Jonathan. However, the reader has the benefit of the German translation that Avi put at the back of the book, so the reader can understand both the Hessian and Jonathan’s point of view. For the reader to get a sense of time passing by, Avi elected to use time stamps, like 9:58 and 10:15 as chapter headings. This gives the reader a chance to see how quickly or slowing events can happen in a war and how in just 24 hours a person’s life can change forever. This book can help readers see that war is not all glory and parades, but to experience the underlying confusion, fear, and senselessness of it all.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Avi has accomplished his intent: to have readers experience, minute by minute, what it’s like to be involved in war.”

THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILEREN’S BOOKS review: “A small stunner.”

5. CONNECTIONS
* As students are studying the Revolutionary War in Social Studies/History class, have students read this story to gain perspective on the hardships and difficult choices that have to be made during war.
*If possible, have a military veteran come and speak to students about his experiences during war and have students compare them to Jonathan’s experiences during this day in the war.

*Other books that focus on the Revolutionary War
*Collier, James Lincoln and Collier, Christopher. MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD. ISBN: 9780590427920
*Hanson, Peter E. and Roop, Peter. BUTTONS FOR GENERAL WASHINGTON. ISBN: 9780876144763
*Moore, Daniel O’Leary. IF YOU LIVED AT THE TIME OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. ISBN: 9780590674447