Sixteen-year-old Jem struggles to maintain the status quo at home in Trenton, New Jersey, when the family men join the war for independence. There are signs of rebellion in the Emerson household several years before the actual American Revolution hits in 1776! Brought up in a relatively liberal household, Jemima Emerson is quite a challenge for her tutor, John Reid, who is known as a Tory with strong ties to England. How could Jem's parents be friends with a man who opposes American freedom? Jem longs for freedom on every level, in the home and her homeland--and John represents the forces that restrict her. Jem and her family soon find themselves fighting for freedom in whatever ways they can in the Revolutionary War. Before long, Jem discovers that there is much more to Mr. Reid than she ever imagined. Her feelings about him change when Jem realizes that John shares her love of freedom--and will risk his life to defend it.
It is 1864. The Civil War is coming to an end, and Southern slaves are slowly gaining their freedom. But for 13-year-old Eulinda, a house slave on a plantation in Kentucky, it is the most difficult time of her life. Her yonger brother, falsely accused of stealing, has been sold. Then her older brother Neddy runs away. And Eulinda is left alone in a household headed by a cruel mistress--and a master who will not acknowledge that Eulinda is his daughter. With her trademark attention to detail and historical accuracy, Ann Rinaldi weaves a gripping tale of a girl caught between two worlds.
