Young Lincoln

Young Lincoln  by Jan Jacobi   208 pages

Abraham Lincoln is still popular in the twenty-first century. Rather unusual for a man who’s been dead for more than 150 years. Best-selling novelists, historians and  mystery writers are among the many genres who tackle our sixteenth president, the man most consider our greatest president ever.

One thing we don’t have though, is many authors writing about his childhood, at least from a novelistic approach. Most of us know that his mother died young, and he was raised by a overbearing father and stepmother. Most books that I have read either concentrate on his adulthood, especially after he became a lawyer and started pursing his political ambitions.

But Jan Jacobi has given readers a rare glimpse into just how hard life was for young Abe with his new young adult novel, “Young Lincoln.” The cover is beguiling, isn’t it? 

Abe and his sister, Sarah grow up under the domineering personality of their father. Life in Indiana is hard.  The cabin is either too hot or too cold. There isn’t always enough to eat, which could account for Abe’s lankiness.

He jumps at the chance to to take a flatboat down the Mississippi to New Orleans. This changes his whole outlook on life, and he never looks back.

After moving to New Salem, Illinois, Abe becomes a shopkeeper and begins to study law. He also falls in love with the beautiful Ann Rutledge.

Jacobi’s story takes us from Abe’s life as a little boy until he is elected to the Senate. The beginning is rather rushed, racing from one scene to another, almost if Abe knows that his life will be short and he must fit in as much as he can.

About a third through, the writing settles down and reads can esacpe into the primitive world of early-1800s America.  But Jacobi keeps his audience in mind and doesn’t try to go too deep, espcecially into Abe’s bouts with melancholy (or depression as we would know it today).

Perhaps the most poignant scene in the book is the very last one. I won’t give it away, but readers, I hope, will be amazed at how well Jacobi foreshadows Abe’s death. This book is geared toward middle school readers, whom I sure have learned about Abe’s demise. Hopefully, they too will be able to see the poetry in that last scene.  It’s worth reading the whole book alone. 

“Young Lincoln” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.