Really loved the historical value, especially as we don't hear about the details of the Mexican-American war and how it's simply a blip on our elementary curriculum radar. I didn't know about the St. Patrick's Battalion, the immigrants who deserted the US Army to fight for Mexico and their reasons for doing so, and their ultimate fate. But this story is brutal in that there was no relief from the Mexican army's constant defeats. The subject holds a lot of personal significance to me, John Riley and Ximena in particular, and how it relates to my own ancestry. This is one of those stories that you love yet at the same time can hardly bear the relentless despair. And I'm not sure if the bittersweet ending is true to history or creative license. 3.5 stars.

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