Turn Homeward, Hannalee

Cannons blazing, homes burning, soldiers fighting and dying—against this Civil War backdrop, two thousand Georgia textile workers are shipped north by the Union Army against their will to work in Yankee mills. Twelve-year-old Hannalee Reed is one of these mill hands, and this is the story of her fulfilling a promise to make her way home again to Georgia and the family she was forced to leave behind.

This powerful novel, based on historical events, is alive with the places and personalities, the sights, sounds, and issues of that era; and it reveals a scarcely known side of our most significant American conflict.

Turn Homeward, Hannalee graphically captures the horror of warfare; the lasting changes war makes in the lives of all those caught up in it; and the differing ways in which people fight to survive. Hannalee is a quick-witted, plucky heroine, who is sure to join the ranks of Patricia Beatty’s most memorable characters; and the sweep, drama, and emotional impact of her story is one readers will long remember.