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Read Soldier's Heart: Being The Story Of The Enlistment And Due Service Of The Boy Charley Goddard In The First Minnesota Volunteers (2000)

Soldier's Heart: Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers (2000)

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2.97 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0440228387 (ISBN13: 9780440228387)
Language
English
Publisher
laurel leaf

Soldier's Heart: Being The Story Of The Enlistment And Due Service Of The Boy Charley Goddard In The First Minnesota Volunteers (2000) - Plot & Excerpts

Soldier's Heart is about a boy named Charley Goddard who is 15, and joins the Union soldiers in the American Civil War. He is not technically old enough to enlist in the army, but does it because it is a "once in a lifetime chance" to see a war. His mother is hesitant, but reluctantly agrees. Every part of this story is a piece of someone's real experiences in the Civil War. This book shows some of those experiences of wars, and post-war life.In the beginning Charley is glad that he joined the army, because he gets to ride fancy trains and has girls everywhere waving at him. Later he learns that it is not as easy as he thought. He is afraid in the first battle and wonders how any of them are brave enough to encounter these horrible battles. As more battles come he learns more about how to shoot and he keeps progressing. He also gains bravery and does better in experiencing the battles. The whole time he is certain that he will die in battle, and believes that his assumption is coming true in the last battle. To find out whether he was correct or not you will have to read this Civil War based book.My least favorite part is when he is filling up his canteen, before a battle, in the river. He looks down to see that the water is tinted pink. He then looks up river to see bodies actually in the river. You can assume that the pink tint is from blood. This part makes me extremely sick to my stomach, which is why I hated this part so much.I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books on war, or history. Also anyone who enjoys gory books would probably like it.

In the book Soldiers Heart the author, Gary Paulsen's main idea is, "if you want something thats important and will help others, even if you have to lie, you shouldn't let anything hold you back."I personally thought this was a really touching and sad book. The story takes place in Minnesota during the civil war where the main character, Charley lies about his age so that he could battle in the civil war. In the process, Charley begins preparing to become a soldier. He participates in many battles including the battle at Gettysburg and gets wounded, and gets sent back home to Minnesota. Unfortunately the wound that wounded Charley caused him pain and started thinking about committing suicide. Will Charley commit suicide or will he keep his dream alive by going back to the war? I thought this book was very educational. A positive thing about this novel is It talks about the battles and it fills the reader with some knowledgeable information, which is actually interesting. I got nervous at the part when Charley lied about his age, so he could fight in the civil war. I got nervous because I relating to charley would never be able to lie about my age without making it obvious that i was lying, i could connect with Charley on this. This book encourages me to want to do things for other people like Charley did for his country. A weakness in this book is that i got bored in the middle because it talked a lot about the war, which did not really give me much interest. Overall it was a good book and i would recommend it to a classmate.

What do You think about Soldier's Heart: Being The Story Of The Enlistment And Due Service Of The Boy Charley Goddard In The First Minnesota Volunteers (2000)?

"Soldier's Heart" by Gary Paulsen is a novel based on Charley Goddard's experience in the Civil War. This book is very fast-paced, primarily slowing for only battle scenes; in fact, the book clocks in at a mere 106 pages. My guess is this was intended to keep the target audience (middle-grade readers) captivated. But if you aren't a middle grade reader, the lack of content just makes the book seem unrealistic. Another major problem is how Charley is described in battle. One moment Charley is looking around the battlefield. Then, in the next sentence, he is suddenly filled with "savage rage".Here's a direct quote:"Charley glanced at him, surprised. Nelson had been there. Cocky Nelson. He was nowhere to be seen and Charley hadn't seen him get hit, hadn't seen him fall. Charley ran on, Some men slowed, satisfied that they'd won the fight, but Charley couldn't stop running and soon found himself in front of the line. He would have been shocked to see himself. His lips were drawn back showing his teeth, and his face was contorted in a savage rage. He wanted to kill them. He wanted to catch them and run his bayonet through them and kill them. All of them. Stick and jab and shoot and murder them and kill them all, each and every Rebel's son of them." Um... what? Overall, "Soldier's Heart" is an inoffensive Civil War novel for middle-grade readers. But, other than that, little can be said. In the end, this novel is just mediocre and unmemorable. Rating: 3/5 stars
—ThePerksOfBeingCarswellThorne

Soldier's Heart is a blunt depiction of Civil War combat. Based on the real-life experiences of Charley Goddard, the novel is an account of Charley's experiences from the time he enlists in the Union army at age fifteen to a couple of years after the Civil War when he is twenty-one and his life is a shambles. The title of the book is a phrase used by Americans to label Civil War veterans who seemed mentally lost because of the war. The atmosphere at the town meetings discussing the possibility is festive, with flags and drums and patriotic speeches. I read this book in grade school and felt a little overwhelmed with the story line and language. My older brother convinced me to read it and I am happy I did. This is a well written book by Gary Paulsen. It shows a 15 year old who thinks he knows it all and has all of the confidence in the world and quickly realizes life is not as easy as it seems. His fears and insecurities are exposed as he is quickly thrown into the realities of war.This book could definitely be used in the classroom when reviewing world history or how we got our independence. There are so many references to real life soldiers and their stories it almost seems like you are there.
—Adrienne Morgan

This book was kind of cheesy, I thought. It was a great book for teens to read about the Civil War, reading all about the bodies, the shock, and other things. It was in third person, which is not my favorite, but I will still read. The boy sneaks into the Army, not knowing what was coming for him. He survives several brutal battles. Charlie comes home from the war...but he just can't stand life. He won't kill himself, not yet, but it's just so hard for him. He lives in a house far away from town.This is why I think the book is sad.A very good book, something I would recommend, just not my favorite.
—Alysha Speer

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