Philbrick, R. (2009). The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. New York, NY: The Blue Sky Press.
Before I begin, I would like to say that I truly appreciated the extra Civil War facts, opinions, slangs and definitions found at the back end of the book. It helped me really understand what was meant and said in the story.
Homer and his older brother Harold live with their mean uncle. I like how the book gives information like how the rich could pay someone to take the place of their own kid to avoid the draft. It was nice to hear more about the Underground Railroad and the different names they had like the conductor, the guide to help blacks go north. I love the battle of truth vs. lies. Homer is trying to find his brother who is drafted to fight, sold by his uncle, he gets kidnapped, by smelt and stinky. What great names, and apparently, they smell pretty bad. Homer battles with what he must do, save himself and save the conductor, a black man also kidnapped by the stinkers. His adventure continues when he goes and works for Mr. Fleabottom, a traveling medicine show owner. They follow the troops, and Homer continues to look for his brother. Mr. Fleabottom is actually a spy for the south. Homer escapes in a hot air balloon and lands in a pond. I like how they add this information. It helps put a picture in your head and you can imagine what was going on. He is in the middle of the battle, but finds his brother. Homer wounds his brother and holds the flag, runs back and forth in the battle, retrieves ammunition, and so on. They get back home and the minister takes them both in, and the slaves are free. They are now heirs to Brewster who told him to write the book. It is funny that that as I read the book, I couldn’t help but think it was all true, but as I finished, I realized it wasn’t. It was like the movie Forest Gump. Like the cover says, “Mostly” true adventures. It was still entertaining and I am waiting to see what my kids think about it when they finish reading it.
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