Calamity's Children by Joaquin Andre Hawkins is a gripping exploration of the after effects of one of America's bloodiest eras-the Civil War. Hawkins delves into the character of Gabriel Masters, whose greatest fight wasn't in the war, but after, as he struggles to surmount his physical and emotional wounds. Masters and his friends scatter across the country, each tending to his wounds as best he can. Masters becomes a success, but still struggles with past memories. As he slowly and inevitably moves from personal defeat and despair to redemption and peace, readers will come to realize that good can emerge even from the horrors of war. Thoroughly researched and filled with plot twists and turns, and characters so alive they seem to leap from the page, Calamity's Children is an engrossing historical drama.