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Whispers
of War
The War of 1812 diary of
Susanna Merritt, Niagara
Upper Canada, 1812
By Kit Pearson
2002
Scholastic Canada
ISBN: 0439988365
Reviewed by Lisa Alward
Susanna Merritt is 11 years old when she
hears talk of yet another war. The
youngest daughter in a family of "late
loyalists" living in the Niagara region of
Upper Canada, Susanna knows too well
the heartache war can bring.
Throughout her childhood she has heard
her parents' terrifying stories about the
American Revolution, not to mention their
English servant's tales of the Napoleonic
wars. Unlike her older brother, Hamilton,
Susanna has no wish to exchange the
dull simplicity of life on the Merritt farm
(near what is now St. Catharines,
Ontario) for the excitement of a military
campaign against her parents' former
homeland.
of War
The War of 1812 diary of
Susanna Merritt, Niagara
Upper Canada, 1812
By Kit Pearson
2002
Scholastic Canada
ISBN: 0439988365
Reviewed by Lisa Alward
Susanna Merritt is 11 years old when she
hears talk of yet another war. The
youngest daughter in a family of "late
loyalists" living in the Niagara region of
Upper Canada, Susanna knows too well
the heartache war can bring.
Throughout her childhood she has heard
her parents' terrifying stories about the
American Revolution, not to mention their
English servant's tales of the Napoleonic
wars. Unlike her older brother, Hamilton,
Susanna has no wish to exchange the
dull simplicity of life on the Merritt farm
(near what is now St. Catharines,
Ontario) for the excitement of a military
campaign against her parents' former
homeland.
In Whispers of War, an intelligently written novel intended for
middle readers, Kit Pearson creates a compelling and convincing
portrait of a young girl caught up in Britain's prolonged feud with
France as it came to be played out in North America. Not only does
the War of 1812 disrupt Susanna's schooling, but it results in the
temporary loss of her best friend and divides loyalties in her own
family. Yet the confusion of warfare also opens unexpected doors.
Susanna befriends the young ward of Isaac Brock, the famous
British general, and in the novel's pivotal scene, she helps buckle on
his sword before the Battle of Queenston Heights.
Author of the modern Canadian classics The Sky Is Falling and The
Daring Game, Pearson masterfully evokes the world of a child in the
"Canada" of the early 1800s. Readers of this superb addition to
Scholastic's Dear Canada series will enjoy Susanna's matter-of-fact
descriptions of making ink from beet juice and preparing syllabub (a
rich 19th-century dessert) under a cow. Pearson modeled her
appealing heroine on her own great-great-great-grandmother,
who, legend has it, really did put on General Brock's sword. (Ages 9
to 13) -- Lisa Alward (Amazon.ca)
middle readers, Kit Pearson creates a compelling and convincing
portrait of a young girl caught up in Britain's prolonged feud with
France as it came to be played out in North America. Not only does
the War of 1812 disrupt Susanna's schooling, but it results in the
temporary loss of her best friend and divides loyalties in her own
family. Yet the confusion of warfare also opens unexpected doors.
Susanna befriends the young ward of Isaac Brock, the famous
British general, and in the novel's pivotal scene, she helps buckle on
his sword before the Battle of Queenston Heights.
Author of the modern Canadian classics The Sky Is Falling and The
Daring Game, Pearson masterfully evokes the world of a child in the
"Canada" of the early 1800s. Readers of this superb addition to
Scholastic's Dear Canada series will enjoy Susanna's matter-of-fact
descriptions of making ink from beet juice and preparing syllabub (a
rich 19th-century dessert) under a cow. Pearson modeled her
appealing heroine on her own great-great-great-grandmother,
who, legend has it, really did put on General Brock's sword. (Ages 9
to 13) -- Lisa Alward (Amazon.ca)