Book: Anson's Way

This book had a lot more to it than I thought it would. It's Young Adult fiction, and the author is a professor at Calvin College, my alma mater. I expected it to be good, as Schmidt is an award-winning author, but it was even better than I expected.
Set in 18th-century Britain, Anson is the young drummer assigned to a military unit tasked with enforcing King George II's rule over the Irish. His own struggle plays out as he both serves in the military, which is not only a family tradition, but in a unit led by his father, yet sees a disparity in why it is necessary to have the laws the unit is then tasked to enforce.

In the end, he is forced to choose between honor of two kinds, making a choice beyond his years.

Unlike the last book club selection, this was a quick read. I enjoyed learning a bit about history and reading along as Anson learned lessons and made his choices.

Anson's Way

by Gary D. Schmidt

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Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/