Do you often find yourself searching for a good book to read? I know I do. If you enjoy reading books based on actual events that happened in history, then I might be able to give you some advice. Lisa Kleins Two Girls of Gettysburg, addresses situations that might have happened during the civil war. It tells the story of how two teenage girls, one a confederate and the other part of the Union, react to the war and how they stay true friends throughout their unique experiences. People who greatly enjoy historical fiction with an inspirational theme and well-expressed irony would be very intrigued by Two Girls of Gettysburg, despite the fact that the characters are not depicted clearly.

            First of all, the theme of this book is a theme that I expect can appeal to many people. Throughout the story, the books theme was never stated, although, I was aware of what the theme was. On page 47, Rosanna tells Lizzie, Oh Lizzie! That will never happen! You are my dearest cousin and my best friend, always. Another statement in the book, stated on page 385, tells about what Lizzie had said to Rosanna after their many adventures. This is what was stated: I explained that as much as I loved her and Margaret, I did not belong in Gettysburg. In this next sentence, taken from page 79, it talks about Lizzie speaking to Rosanna. Youre my best friend. Ill always love you, I said, returning her embrace and believing those words would always be as true as they were at that moment. From these statements, it can be concluded that the theme of the story is that true friendship will always be true through thick and thin.  Therefore, it is a very inspirational and positive theme.

            Secondly, the irony in this book is explained very clearly and I think that many readers would enjoy discovering the different forms.The main forms of irony are situational and verbal. One form of situational irony is that Rosanna lives with people who support the Union and yet she herself is a confederate. One form of verbal irony is when Jack blurts out Im going to kill all the rebels, (Klein) when in reality he cant kill all of his enemies on his own. Another form of verbal irony is expressed on page 79, when Rosanna states, Did you think I would do something desperate? the day before she runs away to Richmond without telling anyone. These are just a few of the many forms of irony that are expressed throughout the book.  And therefore, you can see that this book contains well-expressed irony.

            Thirdly, most of the characters in this story are not described very well. Despite the fact that this book contains well-expressed irony and an inspirational theme, many of the characters in the story are poorly explained. For instance, when the author is writing about Rosannas sweetheart, Henry, on page 7, Lizzie is thinking to herself, He was just one of my brother Lukes rowdy friends. That is one of the only descriptions of Henry throughout the entire book, besides the fact that he went into the army and was killed in action. Lizzie describes herself, on page 5, in the following sentence: My own blunt figure and straight wheat-colored hair would never draw such attention. I wasnt very happy with that description because it seemed too boring. Rosanna, however, is described very well by Lizzie in the following sentence taken from page 5: Rosanna, on the other hand, was a skillful flirt. The boys listened avidly to her Virginia accent& Rosanna was the only character who I felt in the story could be able to connect with readers. The other characters were not depicted clearly. And so I was not impressed by the way that the author described many of the characters.

            In conclusion, Two Girls of Gettysburg very clearly expressed irony and theme, and yet the characterization could have been much better. The irony in the story added a lot to it and made it more enjoyable to read. I was very pleased with the storys overall theme and took pleasure in discovering what the theme was. I was disappointed in the way that the author portrayed the characters and that lowered my liking of the story. But overall, I would recommend this book to those of you out there who enjoy well-written historical fiction.

               Works Cited

Klein, Lisa. Two Girls of Gettysburg. New York: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Childrens Books, 2008.