Guerrilla Season

Homes burned. Horses stolen. Men murdered. Lives destroyed. This is Missouri's Civil War, pitting Southern guerrilla fighters against Union forces ... and neighbor against neighbor. It's the summer of 1863, and Matt Howard, 15, wishes he could just farm his dead father's land in peace. But there's no way that can happen. His best friend, Jesse James, is planning to join the ruthless guerrilla leader Quantrill - and he wants Matt to fight, too. His mother intends to take her children back home to Pennsylvania - and she wants Matt to go along. As the violence intensifies and events spiral out of control, Matt has no choice but to decide: Join the guerrillas with Jesse, or escape to safety with his family? When published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2003, GUERRILLA SEASON was a Junior Library Guild selection and a Bank Street Best Book. Publishers Weekly called it "a compelling story about courage and sacrifice." While designated a young adult novel, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called GUERRILLA SEASON "a must-read historical novel for readers interested in the Civil War or Jesse James."