Numbering All the Bones

Ages 10-14; grades 5-9

Family and freedom are intertwined in this haunting work of historical fiction about a young girl grappling with her past, present, and future in the aftermath of the Civil War.

It is 1864. The Civil War is at an end, but for thirteen-year-old Eulinda, it is the most difficult time of her life. Her younger brother, falsely accused of stealing, has been sold. Then her older brother Neddy runs away. And Eulinda is left alone in a household headed by a cruel mistress — and a master who will not acknowledge that Eulinda is his daughter. Her mettle is additionally tested when she realizes her brother Neddy might be buried in the now-closed Andersonville Prison where soldiers were kept in torturous conditions. With the help of Clara Barton, the eventual founder of the Red Cross, Eulinda must find a way to let go of the skeletons from her past.

With her trademark attention to detail and historical accuracy, Ann Rinaldi weaves a gripping tale of a girl caught between two worlds.