Last in a Long Line of Rebels, Lisa Lewis Tyre
Last in a Long Line of Rebels, Lisa Lewis Tyre
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Last in a Long Line of Rebels

Author: Lisa Lewis Tyre

Narrator: Dorothy Dillingham Blue

Unabridged: 6 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/29/2015

Synopsis

Debut novelist Lisa Lewis Tyre vibrantly brings a small town and its outspoken characters to life, as she explores race and other community issues from both the Civil War and the present day.
 
Lou might be only twelve, but she’s never been one to take things sitting down. So when her Civil War-era house is about to be condemned, she’s determined to save it—either by getting it deemed a historic landmark or by finding the stash of gold rumored to be hidden nearby during the war. As Lou digs into the past, her eyes are opened when she finds that her ancestors ran the gamut of slave owners, renegades, thieves and abolitionists. Meanwhile, some incidents in her town show her that many Civil War era prejudices still survive and that the past can keep repeating itself if we let it. Digging into her past shows Lou that it’s never too late to fight injustice, and she starts to see the real value of understanding and exploring her roots.

About The Author

Lisa Lewis Tyre (www.lisalewistyre.com) grew up in the tiniest of towns in Tennessee. As a child, she heard a local legend of siblings that found enough Civil War gold in their field to pay off the family farm, and she and her friends spent many hours searching their own backyards for treasure. Lisa now lives in Atlanta and works in Advertising/Social Media consulting.

Reviews

Goodreads review by babyhippoface

I grew up in a house that had originally been a two-room school house. My parents bought it at auction and converted it into a three-bedroom home that was by no means fancy but held lots of love and laughter over the years. I never looked at it and thought it was not as good as my friends' homes. So......more

Goodreads review by Alex

It's summer vacation 1999 and in the small town of Zollicoffer, TN, Louise "Lou" Mayhew, 12, daughter of the town's junkman, has just bragged to her nemesis Sally Martin that she and best friend Benjamin "Benzer" Zerto have some exciting plans to look forward to. Truth be told, there were no plans a......more

Goodreads review by Virginia McGee

Last in a Long Line of Rebels Bits of a Civil War diary by Louise Duncan Mayhew in the 1860s, introduce each chapter of Lisa Lewis Tyre’s middle grade novel, Last in a Long Line of Rebels. That story informs the primary one of present day urgency for the writer’s namesake Lou Mayhew as she tries to......more

Goodreads review by Kim

Being a junkman’s daughter isn’t always easy for 12-year-old Lou. When Sally, the richest girl at school, teases Lou about her broken-down old house and how she’ll be spending the summer sorting scrap metal, Lou prays for some excitement. Her prayer is answered but not the way she hoped. Lou learns......more

Goodreads review by Vernon Area

Lou Mayhew lives in the oldest house in Zollicoffer, TN. The house has belonged to her family since before the Civil War, but that’s about to change. There are some folks in town who don’t like the looks of her father’s junk business, which takes up most of the yard, and they’re plotting to condemn......more

Quotes

* “Accomplished debut. . . . Strong secondary characters, including Lou’s thrice-divorced flirtatious grandmother, help build the strong sense of small-town community. Tyre masterfully weaves historical details into Lou’s discoveries in ways that never feel facile, while deftly and satisfyingly resolving past and present puzzles.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“Louise Duncan Mayhew’s perspective in the 1860s is an intriguing contrast to Lou’s modern narration at the turn of the 21st century. . . . The story addresses injustice in plain language that is accessible to young readers who enjoy whodunits.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Tyre’s debut features characters that are believable in their naïveté and sense of invincibility. . . . Louise’s account of their summer adventures, with chapters headed by entries from a Civil War diary, should please middle-grade readers looking for a solid story with an intriguing historical connection.”—Booklist

“The characters are true to life. . . . In the midst of solving a Civil War–era mystery, Lou and her friends confront racism in their own time. Lou feels deeply and is single-minded in her pursuit of justice. A solid debut novel for middle graders who enjoy a blend of history and mystery.”—School Library Journal

“The rumors of the gold, a found diary, and the arrival of a visitor strangely interested in Lou’s house add up to an engaging amateur sleuth story, complete with a satisfying ending. A fine readalone, this might also provide an approachable and entertaining supplement to a classroom unit on the Civil War.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Middle school readers will gain an appreciation for history and mystery as Lou and her friends attempt to unravel her family’s tangled past. . . . As they search for clues, they begin to see how the past is closely linked to the present and that injustice did not stop with the Civil War. The small southern town setting, the engaging characters, the well-developed plot, and the exciting resolution make this a charming coming-of-age debut novel. Diary entries add an authentic historical flavor.”—School Library Connection

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