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By throwing the dreamer John March into America's Civil War, Brooks explores in detail how one man struggles to live honestly, let alone live, through wartime. Her second novel is "a moving and inspirational tour de force," says the Los Angeles Times critic Heller McAlpin, and he's certainly not alone. Reviewers were almost universally won over by, and emotionally invested in, this memoir-like tale. Brooks doesn't hesitate to plumb the morally gray complications of war; in fact, many critics cal

By throwing the dreamer John March into America's Civil War, Brooks explores in detail how one man struggles to live honestly, let alone live, through wartime. Her second novel is "a moving and inspirational tour de force," says the Los Angeles Times critic Heller McAlpin, and he's certainly not alone. Reviewers were almost universally won over by, and emotionally invested in, this memoir-like tale. Brooks doesn't hesitate to plumb the morally gray complications of war; in fact, many critics call the darker undertones a significant and mature strength, especially when compared with Little Women.

Other pluses: minor characters are exquisitely rendered and include several real-life figures, and Brooks's prose is lush and evocative. The writing style, while true to the time period, might strike some readers as overly elaborate, but it also demonstrates the author's painstaking research.

Admittedly, Louisa May Alcott's story has been labeled sentimental. So it's no surprise that a few critics find some schmaltzy missteps in March. Grace's storyline, in particular, has the feel of a historical romance. The New York Times critic Thomas Mallon calls the treatment of African-Americans throughout the novel "treacly and embarrassing," but he's the only one to cite this problem. Overall, March offers a provoking, intimate portrait of life during wartime and the difficult questions we face about loyalty, morality, and love.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.