Sarah Emma Edmonds Was a Great Pretender: The True Story of a Civil War Spy

Jones makes a confident departure from her bestselling YA novels with an entertaining and powerful Civil War%E2%80%93era story about living by one's own rules. Realizing she would never satisfy her father's desire for a son, teenage Sarah Emma Edmonds fled from Canada to America where she assumed the identity of Frank Thompson. Edwards then joined the Union Army, first as a male nurse, then as a spy, passing herself off as a slave and, later, as an Irish peddler: "She was a woman (Sarah) pretending to be a man (Frank) pretending to be a woman (Bridget)." In Oldroyd's full-bleed spreads, characterized by strong cross-hatching and angular shapes, Edmonds's eyes twinkle with her secret knowledge, while Jones delivers her story with the assuredness of a natural storyteller. Ages 7%E2%80%9311. (Apr.)