The Fighting Ground 25th Anniversary Edition

"Jonathan suddenly realized that he had never seen an enemy soldier before. He had seen Tories, but hateful as they were, they were only Americans. What he was seeing right before him were real enemies, foreign ones, the most awful ones, the cruel German-speaking kind.
"Down the road the Hessian

officer waved his sword and shouted something to his men. The drum began to beat again. The fife played high, reedy notes. From behind Jonathan felt the wind cold again his neck. The gun, swaying, felt heavy.
"'Spread out a bit,' the Corporal ordered. 'Don't give so much target.'
"Everyone shifted.
"'When I give the call,' he continued, 'the first line fires. Then the second moves on forward. You on the first line, you step back and load again. You get that? Two rounds a minute, boys, two!'
"Jonathan's heart sank. TWO ROUNDS A MINUTE. He couldn't do it. He wished he'd practiced more.
"The tramp of the soldiers cut through his regrets. Jonathan turned. The Hessians, their red-and-white legs moving in high-stepping, winking unison, had begun once more to advance. Their guns rose beside their golden caps." pp. 44-45

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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey

Eww. Very well-written, clear depiction of a nasty little skirmish in the Revolutionary War, through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old who starts out looking for the glory of war and ends up knowing just how inglorious it is. The setting, characters, and events are beautifully evoked - but it's all

just nasty. A bit of Stockholm Syndrome, a lot of lies and evasions, several deaths and assorted betrayals. And confusion through languages - English, German, and French dividing various groups. Well-written, ugly story. I guess I'm glad I read it, but I definitely don't want to reread.

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LibraryThing member IAmChrysanthemum

I remember reading this in 5th grade. What I most remember is our discussion of the word ambush, which was used in the book. So I can thank this book for teaching me the definition of the ever most useful word "ambush."

LibraryThing member ekbrumley

Avi's books have such a starkness to the words, but not because they're boring. On the contrary, his stories fling themselves off the page and into the readers mind. His ability to craft sentences that move make his books perfect for older elementary students that find history boring. From the

"True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" to this book, his unlikely teenage heroes speak to the heart of every modern teen yearning for romance and adventure.

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LibraryThing member kelseyjenkens

I liked this book. One reason I liked this book was because of the plot. A young boy, Jonathan, decided to go against his fathers order and signed up to be in the Revolutionary War. He had always dreamed of holding a gun and fighting for what was right. As he is captured by the Hessians, Jonathan

found a young boy whose parents were killed. Jonathan breaks away and finds The Corporal. The Corporal asks Jonathan to help him kill the Hessians, but Jonathan does not want to kill anyone. He realizes at this point he just wants to go home. The Hessians capture him once again, but the minutemen assist Jonathan and release him. Jonathan finally returns home to his family. The plot is very suspenseful. Young readers can connect to the feelings and actions that are happening to young Jonathan and can put themselves in his shoes. Another reason why I really liked this book was because the book pushes its readers to think more about the message. The author did not want to explain Jonathan's journey in the Revolutionary War, they wanted readers to dig deeper and realize there was a stronger meaning within this book. Jonathan was having an internal conflict when realizing what a soldier's job entailed. He was not ready for this type of responsibility just yet.

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