{Synopsis} – Man's best friend goes to war.
LOYALTY ABOVE ALL ELSE.
Andrew believes in the importance of loyalty. He is loyal to his family. He is loyal to his hound dog, Dash. And he is loyal to his country, the Confederate States of America.
Although he's too young to join the Confederate Army, Andrew is welcomed into the Home Guard, a group of men who track down deserters and runaways. He and Dash make a great team. But hunting people is very different from hunting raccoons. And soon Andrew's loyalty will be tested like never before.
Dog Tags is a series of stand-alone books, each exploring the bond between soldier and dog in times of war.
{My thoughts} – “War makes boys into men before their time,” Pa had said. I hadn’t even seen the war yet, not really, and I already felt about a hundred years old. Divided we fall by C. Alexander London
Andrew is a twelve year-old boy during the Civil War. His older brother Julius is a soldier in the Confederate Army. His older brother was forced to enlist because their father was too bad off to be of any service to the Confederate Army. While Julius is gone he writes his family and he tells them about what is going on, what he is going through, and how awful it is to have seen “the elephant.”
Andrew is jealous that Julius is able to fight in the War so he ends up helping the Home Guard hunt down and catch War Deserters with his dog Dash. The two of them make a good pair when it comes to hunting down those that have committed crimes against the cause. Eventually however, they get a letter saying that his brother has gone missing and that they don’t know where is is just where he had last been. This upsets Andrew and his parents and eventually Andrew and Dash go out in search of Julius.
Do they find Julius? Is he alive or dead? Did he desert his post? What was going on that made him not want to be in the Army anymore? Can Andrew and Dash make things right? As you are reading you will have many questions similar to these and I can promise in due time you will get the answers you seek.
I have really enjoyed this series. This particular book is well written and very attention grabbing. I had a difficult time putting it down, which wasn’t easy since I Was mostly reading it on my breaks at work. I really enjoyed seeing both Andrew and Julius grow up within the pages of this book. I also enjoyed reading about the Civil War. Although I know the events in which the book is surrounded are real, I also know the actual story is fiction, which made for an excellent read. There are so many children out that that enjoy reading about war and learning about it, and this helps them to get a sort of history lesson while they read and I think that it’s an absolutely brilliant way for the writer to help children to become more aware of past events and the ways in which things had taken place and or been done. I can honestly say when I was in school taking history there was no mention of the use of dogs or any animals to aide in the battles that were taken place it was just dry facts. These books help to make it not so boring and more enjoyable to read and I think that many teachers could benefit from adding them to their required reading lists throughout the year.
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
