Review of The Life and Redemption of Teddy Miller

[Lucy Vera]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Life and Redemption of Teddy Miller" by John W. Bebout.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Life and Redemption of Teddy Miller is a novel by John W. Bebout. It centers on the life of Teddy Miller, a young man growing into adulthood during the turbulent times of the American Civil War. It describes the trials that he had to face, the choices he had to make, and the consequences he had to live with. The book describes the landscape of America after the war, especially in the confederate states who lost the war. It describes the grief and despair people had to endure during that period. It also describes how people reacted to this war. It depicts the ending of the war between The Union and The Confederates. The book highlights the ideologies that the two parties had and how people within these parties agreed or disagreed on such ideologies and policies.

Two boys and their father were on their farm. The boys see a group of soldiers passing through the road in the dead of night silently. The boys then ask their father which side the soldiers are on, and he tells them that they are the enemies. The next day, battle suddenly erupts while their father is away. Their house and farm are completely raided and destroyed. The boys ran away and stayed with a friend of their father. Teddy, the elder brother, then goes on to search for their father; this is where his journey begins.

This book had a lot of conversations that were written in the dialect of that time. It sometimes made it difficult to understand what was being said. While it was sometimes used well, the mixture of languages from two different periods made reading somewhat confusing. Nevertheless, it did not take much out of the reading experience; instead it enriched it as it drew me into the novel.

The book was enlightening. It describes how life during that time was. It gave an in-depth look into some of the ideologies the two warring parties had through the conversation between the characters. The book also gives some of the reasons some people took part in the war, such as economic reasons. I enjoyed the character development in the book, especially the main character. He matured a lot in his decision making in the latter part of the novel. The book was professionally edited; I could only spot one error in it.

I rate this book four out of four stars. The book was well written. The use of the dialect of the time enriched the book. Also, some of the geographical dialects were differentiated just enough to give the book more details.

I recommend this book to history enthusiasts and also to American citizens. This would help them know their history and what soldiers had to do to maintain the unity of their country.

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The Life and Redemption of Teddy Miller
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[Aisha Yakub]

I'm interested in knowing what soldiers had to do to maintain the unity of the country. Thank you for the review.

[CHARLES ALOO]

Every nation has a story, even the great bastion of the universal freedom once walked on her knees. Great and thanks for the review.

[Essy Nma]

I like the way the author got me disappointed because I thought the book is religious. Thanks for the review.