This story about the underground railroad and a young boy's coming to terms with the issue of slavery is well written and very engaging. It is not difficult to see why it won a Christy award for excellence.
Robert is a boy who grows up having not a clue about slavery, the underground railroad and racism. His father is employed on a plantation where the owner had freed all his slaves the year before Robert was born. His mother is from a slave holding family and was disowned by her father when she married Robert's father who was from the north. In spite of this and the fact that Robert's best friend is William Henry who happens to have black skin while Robert's is white, things go along fairly well until the summer when Robert is thirteen.
Robert's father disappears during the night fairly often causing disagreements with Robert's mother, Caroline, who views slavery as a natural part of life. Caroline's father becomes ill and Caroline decides she needs to see her father again so Caroline and Robert travel from Maryland to Ashland Plantation in North Carolina. Once there Caroline easily adapts to having slaves and Robert is torn as to what he believes about slavery.
The plight of slaves and the workings of the underground railroad makes this book hard to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
I received this book from Moody Publishers for this review.
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