Crossing Ebenezer Creek- A Review and ARC Giveaway

Congratulations to Clara Gillow Clark who won I AM FAMOUS and Sheri Levy who won SHARK NATE-O.

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Two scruffy, scraggly bearded soldiers in sky-blue trousers and dark-blue sack coats flanked the root cellar doors. Musket rifles at the ready.

From astride a bay steed, a third white man--crisp, clean shaven, long, lean--looked down on her and the boy. (pp. 8-9)

What a way to set the scene! Although this isn't the opening of Crossing Ebenezer Creek, through the use of precise details the author, Tonya Bolden, quickly establishes the time, place, and some of the characters the reader will meet.  

A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017, Young Adult

Mariah, a young Georgia slave, has lived all her life waiting for this day. So when Yankee soldiers arrive and pronounce "Freedom!" she hardly knows what to do first. She grabs her younger brother, Zeke, and starts desperately to look for the other slaves to make sure they all leave the Chaney plantation as soon as possible.

One of the men who liberates the plantation is a black soldier, Caleb. He is immediately drawn to her.

Mariah. Strong, proud-sounding name. But then he remembered that passage in Exodus about a place named Mariah. "A place of bitter water," Caleb said to himself.

How bitter her days? Caleb speculated on how much hell Mariah had endured, especially with her being such a pretty one. Mahogany. Her dark eyes had a shine like diamonds. Lips a bit pouty. Button nose. (p. 25) 

I love how this paragraph with it's small snippet of dialogue reveals so much:

When the signal to fall in came, Caleb looked back, saw Mariah heading for his wagon. His heart sank when she climbed into the back, but then his spirit soared when she pulled a quilt out of one of her sacks and placed it over Zeke and Dulcina.

"Captain Galloway gave you some good news?" Mariah asked as she rejoined Caleb in the buckboard.

"Not really. Why?"

"You look like you won a prize or something." (p. 37)

As more people join the march, or as Mariah calls, "one moving wound," the two very slowly get to know one another. And like the slow moving march itself, their friendship and love develop slowly. Each one has deep wounds in their past that make trusting each other almost impossible. 


Ms. Bolden reveals Mariah's and Caleb's backstories through flashbacks. In this one, Mariah remembers Nero, the slave driver who constantly harassed her. She would always be on the look out for, 

Him peeping at her through the cookhouse door, making nasty gestures.

Him trying to sneak up on her when she headed to the chicken coop.

Him once just staring at her, mumbling about extra dresses, more food, and how she was to respect the white in him. (p.105) 

Caleb's backstory comes out when he tells Mariah about the white man he almost killed because he had killed his sister, Lily. 

"You killed the man?" Mariah interrupted when Caleb told of picking up a brick.

"Was about to when something came over me. It wasn't like I heard some still, small voice. More like I saw myself becoming a worse evil, knew if I murdered the man, his blood...never enough. Me, I'd never be right. I'd only soil my soul." (p. 189) 

I appreciated the Christian sub-theme that ran throughout the book. At one point Captain Galloway is training new soldiers to help the ex-slaves. Caleb sits in on one of the captain's talks "where he [the captain] handed out tracks about slavery. And now he watched him put another plan into action, starting with Privates Sykes and Dolan. "They say they are Christians. I want to help them prove it."

The privates are given the job of distributing food. Later in that scene one of the privates says, "I was just--it sounds like we'll be serving them...them."... "You will be serving your Lord and Savior," said Captain Galloway. (p. 53-4)

I don't want to give away the ending, but it crept up on me and although in retrospect I saw it was predictable--yet it still surprised me. Based on the true account of Ebenezer Creek, this beautifully written story will be useful in the classroom and appeal to both girls and boys, as well as adults. I highly recommend it. 

GIVEAWAY

I am giving away this middle grade novel for boys and girls in conjunction with the spring issue of Talking Story on Prejudice. Leave a comment here for one chance; leave a comment through the newsletter and I'll enter your name twice. Giveaway ends April 30th. 

Wonder at the Edge of the World- and a Giveaway!

To be honest, at first I didn't think about historical fantasy being a genre until I read Wonder at the Edge of the World by Nicole Helget and was contemplating how I wanted to review it. But then I realized I've read many books with both historical and magical elements--although typically they take place prior to the 20th century. 

Set in Kansas right before the Civil War, this is the story of how a young girl, Hallelujah Wonder; and her best friend, Eustace, who is a slave, deliver a dangerous Medicine Head to the cold depths of Antarctica to prevent a Captain Greeney, a wicked Navy captain from using it to work evil. 

In a nutshell, these are the historical and magical elements of this middle grade book that is a story of adventure, friendship, and sacrifice. 

The reader gets a great glimpse into Hallelujah's (who prefers to be called Lu) character when she tells the reader that she intends to be "the first lady scientist in Kansas--maybe the only scientist at all in this sunbaked, throny-plant, tree-lonely, dirty-water, skinny-animal, dusty-air, grasshopper-happy, God-forsaken place." (p. 8,9) We also find out that her role model is her father who Captain Greeney murdered. He was not only a great explorer who discovered Antarctica, but he brought home a number of valuable artifacts. So valuable that they are hidden in a cave which only Lu and Eustace know about. 

One of the artifacts, the Medicine Head that talks, can only be heard by certain individuals--including Lu. Bundled in a crate with the instructions, "KEEP COOL. DO NOT DESTROY!" Lu feels the head calling to her. When she can't resist touching it, she sees visions from the past; including images of Captain Greeney pursuing her father in order to possess the Medicine Head's power. 

With Captain Greeney on her trail, but now knowing all of the Head's powers, Lu decides it's her job to get the Head to Antarctica--where it is cold and will never be destroyed.  

At the same time, pre-Civil War unrest infiltrates Tolerone, her midwest town. A fight between the Abolitionists and slave owners leads to a devastating fire leaving Eustace temporarily without a master. Recognizing that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be free, Eustace leaves Kansas with Lu on her quest to take the Medicine Head to Antarctica. 

Like I said, the story mixes fantasy with history and I enjoyed the historical parts the best--which shows you what kind of reader I am! I particularly appreciated how Lu describes the changes she sees in Eustace after leaving Kansas and arriving in New Bedford, Massachusetts where they hope to find passage to Antarctica: 
"Eustace is walking funny. He moves through the lanes of New Bedford with a confidence I never saw in him at home." (p. 206)

Seeing Eustace's freedom through Lu's eyes tells the reader a lot about both characters:

I try to feel what Eustace is feeling right now. I'm sure he misses his ma. I know he does. But if he had stayed in Tolerone, he'd probably have been separated form her away. He'd probably have been shipped off to work all day, every day, for mean old slave owners who would never appreciate a single thing he did or knew. They'd probably never realize how smart Eustace is. They'd probably never appreciate how loyal he is. They'd probably never see how strong and courageous he is. Or how forgiving he is. Even if he is a mama's boy and hits girls.

I wonder if he's looking around and thinking about all the possibilities he has. All those things had had hoped for his life, about being a cowboy or a scientist, are suddenly possible. I feel happy for him. But I feel a bit of unhappiness, too. I know that at some point, our journey, successful or not, will be over, and Eustace and I will have to separate. (p. 218)

When Lu finally rids herself of the Medicine Head, she's no longer a prisoner to its whims. She has found her freedom; in the same way that Eustace has found his.

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To win a copy of this novel for yourself or for a middle grade reader, leave me a comment by 6 PM on Wednesday, July 29. If you want to increase your chance of winning, please share on Facebook or Twitter and let me know in your comment which you did.  

This review was first posted on LitChat on July 2, 2015.

Liesl's Ocean Rescue and a Giveaway!

Congratulations to fellow blogger, Rosi Hollenbeck, who won an autographed copy of Maggie Dana's book, "Riding for the Stars."

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Liesl's Ocean Rescue, an historical picture book struck a personal chord for me. It begins with the awful events that surrounded Krystallnacht; an event which deeply affected my paternal grandparents. Like Liesl the main character in Barbara Krasner's story, my mother also escaped Nazi Germany at a young age and took an ocean voyage to America. But unlike Liesl, my mother's ship docked in New York City and her family quickly traveled to Ohio to establish a new home.

Based on the true story of Liesl Joseph Loeb's voyage on the MS St. Louis, Liesl's journey was different. When the ship attempted to enter Havana on the way to America, the Cuban government refused permission to dock. After almost a week of negotiations, the ship--filled with over 900 individuals trying to escape concentration camps--was forced to return to Europe. Although Liesl's family came to America two years later, over two hundred of their fellow passengers did not survive the war. 

Although every page is full of black and white illustrations by artist Avi Katz, this poignant picture book will best be appreciated by children from 8-10 years old. It will enhance classroom instruction about the Holocaust, bring alive the difficulties that immigrants often face, and offer a great starting point for discussions about war and freedom. A teacher's guide can be found here.

I would like to pass along my gently-used Advanced Readers Copy of this book. To enter, leave me a comment by Friday, November 28. If you are a teacher or plan to donate the book to a classroom library, let me know and I'll enter your name twice.