The main character, Amelia, is nicknamed 'Wickie" because of her work in the lighthouse and dealing with the wicks. Her gender role is very uncommon for the time period as is her political interests. Wickie's family lives at a lighthouse where her father is the assistant light keeper. Wickie takes equal shifts with her father and the head light keeper and truly enjoys her position. Her mother is very unhappy on the island away from her mother and has several physical ailments which leave her cross and quarrelsome throughout the book. Amelia is also a helper at the local school on the mainland. She is certainly a character of many strengths. She works hard, helps her family, and cares about those around her. She is a great role model for today's readers. The journal style format of the Dear America series makes it easy to read and is great for introducing this type of writing to any young student. The pictures and documents at the end of the book are helpful and lend to the information provided on that time period in America's history. Amelia's story revolves around working at the lighthouse and on the mainland, becoming active in the political views of the Civil war, and falling in love with a fellow neighbor. It is a very enjoyable book to read and I recommend it for any student studying the Civil War or that time period in America's history.

I loved this book! I have read all of the Dear America books but one, and this is one of my favorites. I liked how, the story was about the Civil War but it wasn't the main deal of discussion, I also like how they talked about the war through a different view. I learned alot about how life was on the east coast, working the lighthousesin 1861. I hope you all can get the chance to read this book.

I found this book to be one of the better of the Dear America series. All of them are well written, but very few manage to capture that, "this is a real person" feel. Some of the books read more like a "this is what is happening in the world" rather than a real diary. However, this book has an engaging character, and a real plot of her parent's seperation. Another interesting thing to note is the way that this book has many layers that were written that the main heroine doesn't neccessarily understand, such as the relationship of her uncle and the freed slave, or her grandmother and her mothers. I also enjoyed watching the relationship between her and a friend's brother grow from a friendship to something more. Overall, I would highly reccomend this book.