Ann Rinaldi's historical novels frequently illustrate the destruction of war through the eyes of the girls and women involved as spectators, victims, and reluctant participants. In Cast Two Shadows, Rinaldi uses the compelling young character Caroline Whitaker to reveal how the Revolutionary War affects life on a South Carolina plantation in 1780. Fourteen-year-old Caroline is caught in the violent web of war--her Patriot father is imprisoned, her Loyalist brother Johnny is wounded, her best friend is hanged by the British before her eyes, and her sister is fast becoming the doxy of the cruel British officer who has commandeered their house. To further complicate matters, although her family chooses to ignore it, Caroline knows that she is the result of her father's dalliance with one of his black slaves. In fact, her grandmother, Miz Melindy, still lives in the slave quarters. When Caroline and Miz Melindy take a long wagon journey together (in an attempt to save Johnny), the young heroine at last comes to terms with the complexity and tumult of her life. (Ages 11 to 16) --Patty Campbell

Genre: Historical