Travel Back to 1863 Our Story Begins
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welve-year-old Homer P. Figg is on the loose in the American Civil War. How come? Well, Homer’s father died before he was born, his mother died before the war, and now his big brother Harold has been sold into service as a Union soldier. Homer is determined to find his brother and keep them both safe and alive until the war ends. How can a kid do that? Fortunately, this kid can think on his feet and lie through his teeth. Homer will crisscross the America of 1863 on trains, boats, and hot-air balloons, colliding with a crazy cast of characters —from bounty hunters and clergymen to carnival performers and tricksters. At the end of his journey, Homer meets the greatest challenge of all—the war. But does Homer have what it takes to be a hero?
Civil War Slang rapscallion: a rascal
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A Crazy Cast of Characters Homer encounters mo re than 25 characters. Here are just a few:
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Harold Figg, Homer’s 17-year-old brother Squinton Leach, Home r’s uncle, and the meanest man in Maine Samuel Reed, a cond uctor for the Underground Railroad Mr. Brewster, a wealthy and good-hearted Quaker Kate Nibbly, a beautif ul young woman, but not to be trusted Professor Fleabottom, a carnival trickster Minerva, his red-haired , tattooed assistant plus generals, colonels , soldiers, and several pigs