Fact is, we haven't had enough YA historical fiction on this blog. Diana Reep is here to fix that, sharing some background about her novel, The Dangerous Summer of Jesse Turner. Hold onto your hats: we're in for some rough riding.
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Teddy Roosevelt’s Volunteers
By Diana Reep
I appreciate the chance to talk about my teen historical
adventure, The Dangerous Summer of Jesse
Turner. I prefer to write fiction based on action-packed exploits in the
past. The Spanish-American War of 1898, although brief, certainly fit that
requirement and also was crucial in creating an independent Cuba. My research
partner and I were discussing the 1890s in general when we realized the war was
a perfect setting for a teen adventure.
President McKinley sent the regular U.S. Army to Cuba, but
the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment formed by Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt
captured the attention of the public. Volunteers for the Rough Riders, as the
regiment was called, came from across the nation—cowboys, students from Yale
and Harvard, farmers, and Indians from the western territories. The challenge in historical fiction is to
create vivid characters who live their own lives within the framework of
historical events.
The diversity of Rough Rider volunteers made it easy to develop
three teens from different backgrounds who find friendship and loyal comrades amid
sudden bloody conflict. Choosing the teen to narrate the story was also easy. Jesse
Turner is from a small town in the Missouri area where the famous outlaws Frank
and Jesse James and the Younger brothers once lived. Attaching his family
background to the outlaw history means he has to face a personal enemy among his
fellow Rough Riders along with the deadly hazards of combat. His pals, New
Yorker Will and Ben, a Comanche from the territories, share his dangers and struggle
with their own personal tests.
The fun in research for me is finding stories that lie
beneath the general surface record. For
instance, although the volunteers were called Rough Riders, they had to leave most
of their horses behind in Florida because the decrepit merchant ships taking
them to Cuba were overloaded with troops. Of the horses that did sail to Cuba,
most drowned in attempting to land on the beaches. So, the Rough Riders walked through
the jungle and fought on foot. Battles often get the most attention in history
books, but just as important were the daily frustrations the volunteers had to
face—ugly land crabs, heat, rotten food, fever, torrential rains, and constant
wet feet.
Readers who like fast-paced action-adventure will find it
in The Dangerous Summer of Jesse Turner.
As a writer I hated to leave Jesse, Will, and Ben, and they remain my favorite
characters.
Blurb: When
sixteen-year-old Jesse Turner lies about his age and joins Colonel Theodore
Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, he expects to prove himself in battle. What he
doesn’t expect is a fellow volunteer determined to kill him for something his
outlaw father did in the past. Jesse and his new friends, New Yorker Will and
Ben, a Comanche from the Indian Territories, share the hazards of a volunteer
military force unprepared for war and the reality of deadly combat. Facing
dangers from all sides, the three teens depend on friendship, courage, and
integrity to get them through the bloody action of the Spanish-American War.
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Purchase The Dangerous Summer of Jesse Turner at Barnes
and Noble and Amazon
Learn more about Diana Reep here.
