Copyright Date:
2024
Edition Date:
2024
Release Date:
07/23/24
Pages:
192 pages
ISBN:
Publisher: 1-638-19215-4 Perma-Bound: 0-8000-4983-7
ISBN 13:
Publisher: 978-1-638-19215-2 Perma-Bound: 978-0-8000-4983-6
Dewey:
Fic
Dimensions:
20 cm
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
As Reconstruction begins, two 12-year-old girls join forces and head north to find their families.Aurelia and Halle Lujah, each living on a different Virginia plantation, narrate this verse novel, set in 1865. Aurelia, who is white, reminisces about a privileged life of parties as she attempts to raise vegetables now that the people her family formerly enslaved have left. Halle, who is Black, renames herself now that she's free and sets out in search of her parents. The girls' paths cross, and a tragedy finds Halle tending to Aurelia, who wants to find her brother, a soldier who fought with the Union. Both realize it's safer to travel together, and they don men's clothes. Aurelia now goes by "Elly," a nickname from her beloved brother. Together the girls cross a bloody battlefield and navigate using Halle's knowledge of the North Star. They protect each other at great personal cost, and true friendship blossoms. Elly's and Halle's distinct voices and strong personalities balance each other nicely as each in turn gives and receives help. While the authors tread ground that will be familiar to readers of historical fiction-Elly teaching Halle to read-they also include thought-provoking moments as the characters contemplate death, wonder whether good acts can counteract past misdeeds, and encounter a formerly enslaved woman who has chosen to stay on her plantation despite knowing that she can leave.A moving postâCivil War story of comradeship and self-discovery. (historical notes, publisher's note) (Verse historical fiction. 11-14)
Historical fiction at its finest! A sweet and sensitive, accessible middle grade novel in verse, following an unlikely friendship in the aftermath of the American Civil War. A Junior Library Guild Selection "As Reconstruction begins, two 12-year-old girls join forces and head north to find their families....Elly's and Halle's distinct voices and strong personalities balance each other nicely as each in turn gives and receives help....A moving post-Civil War story of comradeship and self-discovery."--Kirkus Reviews The Civil War is over. Aurelia, the daughter of a destitute plantation owner, reelsfrom the aftermath of a war that has torn her life apart. Halle, a newly freed slave, looks for a family she fears islost forever. When fate brings the two girls together, they head north in ajoint quest for freedom: one from human shackles, the other from pride. Differences and judgment soon give way to an unexpectedfriendship between two girls who have more in common than meets the eye, as dowe all. Heartwarming and life-changing, This Opening Sky is a tale ofhope that proves that when love overcomes prejudice, we're all set freetogether. Excerpts from the This Opening Sky : Aurelia My hands are torn, blistered and bleeding. No longer the hands of a young lady. I drop my hoe and unwrap my bandaged fingers. Nails, once perfectly manicured, now dirty and broken. The hands of a field worker. Sary "Stay," Miss Ruby Lee say. "Please don't go." She all the mama I know now. What if Mama come for me? Pa say he be back. What if he come and I be gone? But if they come and these folk don't let me go, like they do Cassie and Thad, then what I'm gonna do? Seem like stayin' be wastin' my free.
Common Core
STEAM
Graphic
Novel
High/Low
Chapter
Book
Large
Print
Series Tracker
Manga
Big
Book
Board
Book
Hot
Title
Adult
Language
Mature
Content
Ebook
Ebook
MUA (Multi User Access)
Light Novel
