This is a sweet, but challenging story about a 16 year old girl from pro-Confederate Maryland who marries a Union soldier from Connecticut just after the Civil War. The story presents the conflicts of hard feelings and the need for healing between North and South in the context of family relationships. It seems quite unusual as stories usually lead up to an unknown "happily ever after." Here, the emphasis is on this young bride's married life. Cultural and religious differences as well as bitterness from the war make life quite difficult for this young bride living with her husband on his parents' farm. The story makes an interesting backdrop to consider ideas about developing relationships, the give-and-take necessary in marriage and the idea of love and commitment. Appropriate for ages 12 and up.