Reviewer: Mary Lignor
Title: Janie's Freedom - (Sisters in Time)
Author: Callie Smith Grant
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-59789-086-1
Release Date: April 2006
Genre/Sub-genre: Youth/Juvenile Fiction
Publisher’s Age/Grade Recommendation: Youth ages 8-12
OUAR’s Age/Grade Recommendation: Youth Ages 8-12
Year Setting: 1867, Georgia
Overall Rating: 5.0
Callie's Page: www.barbourbooks.com/author/detail/callie-smith-grant
Hi All:
This is new for me, guys. I don’t usually read Young Adult books – but I must say, with some of the "adult" books that are getting published right now – I may switch to young adult and teen permanently. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed everything from Harry Potter to Twilight and how unexcited I am about the eighteenth-thousandth mystery with the exact same ending that adults are cranking out and getting paid for. It also helps that Ms. Grant, the author of this wonderful book, knows her subject. The author actually presents history in a way that the youth of today can understand and appreciate.
This book centers on a young girl’s freedom. Janie’s eleven years old and certainly the War Between the States has confused her just as much as it confused all us adults. Brother fought against brother and a country almost fell to ruin to save lives. The war is now over and Miss Laura – a widow who owns the Rubyhill Plantation – tells the former slaves that they may go – they’re free. Unfortunately, for young Janie, her family was taken away from her – split up when they were sold to various plantations before the war.
The South is still full of anger, resentment and danger and the North – well, the North may be a haven but it also has more questions than answers. If Janie leaves Georgia, she may never find her mother again. The choices for this eleven-year-old make me crazy. They remind me of a show I saw where a thirteen-year-old boy was all that was left of his family and had to feed, raise and care for his five younger siblings (and this was JUST on television).
Times feel like they don’t change much as we carry forward. Last night I was reading this book and Barack Obama became the first African-American president. All I could think was how much little Janie would’ve liked that.
The Civil War – I agree with many historians on this one – was the worst time in US history. It was the time we literally brought up arms against each other. I recommend this book highly for the faith, love and hope it inspires and the lessons that some of us STILL need to learn: Acceptance, loyalty, honor, and friendship, among them. Read the Sisters in Time series – you won’t be disappointed and there’s never a time when we should stop learning.
Talk to you soon,
Mary
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