The historical facts are even more gripping than the fiction in this novel set in 1850s New York City. In the first chapter, Maria Peters, 13, is inspired when she hears Sojourner Truth deliver a thundering abolitionist speech in church. In the last chapter, Maria and her family must leave home when the city destroys their black community to make room for Central Park. At times, the narrative bogs down with the details of the huge cast of characters trying to organize resistance to the displacement. But the heartrending abolitionist story is made personal with Maria's new, quiet friend in school, Anna, who turns out to be a fugitive hiding from the slave-catchers. Anna's parents earned their freedom down South but Anna still belongs to the slave-owner, and her parents could be arrested for stealing her. So could Maria, for helping Anna. Woven throughout, the history of Central Park adds to the story's underlying questions about the meaning of roots and displacement. Small, delicate illustrations by Lewis add interest at the opening of each chapter.

In 1855, thirteen-year-old Maria's family is in danger of losing its home to Central Park's development. Meanwhile, Maria, inspired by hearing Sojourner Truth speak, gets involved in the struggles of a fugitive slave family. Hansen's New York City setting, ably assisted by Lewis's atmospheric black-and-white spot illustrations, is vividly presented. An author's note tells more about the time and place.

It is 1855 in Manhattan and Maria Peters is 13 years old. The African-American girl wants nothing more than to take part in the local abolitionist meetings, but getting into fights in the schoolyard and failing her class sewing project lead Mama to believe she isn't mature enough to attend. But when the new girl at school turns out to be a runaway slave, Maria has a chance to show her family that her commitment to freedom is serious. Set against the backdrop of a New York City that was in the process of evicting free blacks and Irish and German immigrant families from the area that became Central Park, this straightforward series opener aims for the cozy feel of the Little House or All-of-a-Kind Family books, rich with details of Maria's home and school life. Unfortunately, Hansen misses that mark with occasionally didactic dialogue and slow pacing. Still, young readers will find the setting fascinating, and this will pair well with Tonya Bolden's nonfiction Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl (2005). (Historical fiction. 9-12)