If your mid-schooler has read the first two novel in Jennifer Bohnhoff’s Rebels Along the Rio Grande series, you’ll need to get the final book of the trilogy for them as soon as possible. If they haven’t, you’ll want to get them all.

The Famished Country follows the characters we met in Where Duty Calls and The Worst Enemy through the aftermath of the Civil War battles in New Mexico. It’s not really necessary to read the other books first. Bohnhoff has done an excellent job of providing information about previous events so it’s certainly possible to read this as a stand-alone.

It was fun to catch up with the various characters. The scene in which Union captain’s daughter Annabelle decides she’s going to marry the poor rebel boy from Texas is absolutely hilarious. This humor is balanced by the stress experienced by the boys in the book as they navigate the physical and emotional confusion of war, conflicting loyalties, and the desire to return home intact. We also meet historical characters such as Captain Paddy Grayson, Confederate Henry Hopkins Sibley, and the “angel of Santa Fe,” Louisa Canby.

Bohnhoff has completed a masterful series for young people with The Famished Country. I recommend it!