Bane of The Innocent

FIVE STARS!
Amazon review by Katie

Today I am reviewing yet another great book by Oliver Phipps. It is a short story around 4-5 chapters long, but the weight that is left while reading and after finishing the book is immense. I think I have already mentioned this in my reviews, but the way Mr. Phipps
writes is fascinating. His writings suck you in the book and do not want to let you go after finishing the book. All his books are different, I guess, he was trying himself in different genres. This one is historical fiction.
The story takes place during Civil War in Atlanta. For me as soon as I read words Civil
War and Atlanta, the first thing that comes to mind is “Gone with the Wind”. As it was one of the first books I read on Civil War or at least part of it. But let me get back to this story. The story follows a young boy – Sammy. He lives under the house, his mother doesn’t remember him, and he has no idea as to who his father is. Every day it’s a battle with hunger for him, as his mother’s “Boss” threw him out of the house. Mostly he’s a character that makes you want to pity him, no, that’s not the correct word, you want to make that child happy. I was amazed at how Phipps could make 7-year-olds so apathetic. The way they use words, the way they take for me it is too strange, I was okay with Sammy’s apathy, however Ben made me think: “What is wrong with this kid?
Shouldn’t he be crying or something?”
This story is like a snapshot from the past. It shows a different side of the story in whole. As we see some cruel moments, however, they were justified with words: “It was war!”
The ending is open. We do see that the boys found a good family to live with, however
that is not the ending. I guess the author leaves it up to us to think how their story ended. I hope you have an hour or so to spare to read this fantastic story. Enjoy it to its fullest.

FIVE STARS!!
Amazon review by Love:

This is a heartwarming story about a little boy named Sammy and his unfortunate life during the Civil War. Born of a mother who worked a brothel in Atlanta, Ga. and not knowing who his father was, Sammy was forced to go through turmoil and suffering. He meets a kid who’s a runaway slave named Ben, who he immediately bonds with. They never thought about their differences because their similarities were so strong. The boys share a few tear jerking laughs that take away their pain for a short period of time, only to later be faced with several sad and unexpected occurrences.
Even though this book is short, each page draws you in as if you are lost in the lives of these two boys.

Oliver Phipps does a great job of painting a picture of the Civil War from the perspective of a child. This is a great read for adults as well as any history class from middle school to college.

FIVE STARS!!
Amazon review by Marcus:

The story is about 2 boys during the civil war times. one of the boys named Sammy had it rough, his mom was a drunk that didn’t work and at one time tried to give him away. Benjamin was the other young boy, they had a lot of fun together, just like the story of Mark Twain. Sammy had one other friend named Tommy that was a solder and died,
thru all the ups and downs this story has a very happy ending. I really enjoyed this book and would like to find more books from this author. I think if you give this book a try,

you will be glade you did.