The Farm

 It is sometimes said there are only two plots: a boy (or girl) goes on an adventure, and a stranger goes to town. In this case, the stranger is a reality show crew for Pimp My Patio. They come to the protagonist’s home and, well, start to work on the patio. 

The start of the book is perhaps one of my favorites and is witty and hilarious. Things take a dark, but intriguing twist as, after using a wrecking ball, they uncover the body of a girl from the Civil War era. Bothered by this discovery, the family debates moving and contacts the USDA for financial aid in making that change. 

Found by the young girl's body is a journal. As the protagonist reads the journal, we see a glimpse into two lives from the Civil War. Bunny, the author of the journal, tells her tale, but the journal also tells us the story of Colonel Charles Ives. In Colonel Ives' story, he is on an assignment to arrest Colonel Taylor, an assignment given to him by General Grant himself. The story drops the names of famous characters from the Civil War from time to time. These sections are an interesting change of pace.

The stories told in The Farm, despite being from different eras, actually begin to converge. As the reader continues in the story, the similarities between the characters, past and present, become more and more apparent. The story threads spool together, as potential fraud in the USDA housing program and the misappropriation of Civil War rifles share something in common: the name Joseph Taylor.

The book crescendos into an exciting conclusion. For fans of Civil War period pieces, this book is quite good, as well as for anyone who is good-humored.

Length: 427 pages

Perspective: 3rd person Limited

Tense: Past

Kindle Unlimited: Yes

https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Times-Change-Crimes-Same/dp/B0F29FSZW3