Beneath the Slashings

The war is over, but Grace’s troubles have just begun.

(Slashings--n. Broken branches, splintered trunks, and other debris left on the ground after lumbering: The slashings lay strewn about like casualties of war, cold, gray and skeletal.)

Grace Nickerson's life has been shattered by four years of war. She's desperate to return to a sense of normalcy, but soon after her father returns, he sells the farm and drags the family to a lumber camp in Michigan's northern wilderness. Living in the primitive camp is dangerous enough, with its rough loggers and hard-bitten soldiers, but then a series of accidents prove intentional. Who is sabotaging the camp, and why? Will the winter in the woods bring the healing Grace's family needs? Or will it drive a wedge between Grace and her father?

Likened to the rich literary style of Ann Rinaldi but with its own twist of adventure, Beneath the Slashings peeks into the colorful culture of the early lumber industry and explores the lives of Americans rebuilding after war. Find out why so many teachers have incorporated this Civil War historical fiction series into classrooms across the country. The price is kept deliberately low so you can feel as good about the cost as you do about the content. Download your child’s copy today and open a door to America’s past.

Series librarian-nominated for the 2012 Great Michigan Read.

Divided Decade Series:
1858 – The Candle Star
1862 – Blood of Pioneers
1865 – Beneath the Slashings