Avery's Battlefield, by Deanna K. Klingel, is a historical fiction novel for young adults about a boy, a dog, and their search for peace in the first years of the Civil War. Avery and his dog, Gunner, have a good life in Kanawha Valley a loving family, a prosperous farm, and a warm community of friends. But when the long unrest between the North and the South ignites into war, Avery's peaceful world is shattered. His father, brother, and uncle leave home, each drawn away by the war. Soon Avery and Gunner must begin a dangerous journey that will take them across the paths of people on both sides of the struggle.