Customer Reviews

Janie's Freedom: African Americans in the Aftermath of the Civil War (1867) (Sisters in Time #14)

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The South was a turbulent place after the Civil War ended. The slaves were free from slavery, but not necessarily from trouble. Many white men resented having to free their slaves, so life was still hard for a black person in the South. Many of the freed slaves left the South and traveled to the North to find work and greater acceptance.

Janie is one such slave. It's been two years since the end of the war. She is still living at Rubyhill, a plantation that was mostly burnt when Sherman's troops came through. She has been raised by Aunty Mil, an elderly, blind slave on the plantation who has treated Janie like her grandchild. Janie was taken away from her parents when she was five and sold to Rubyhill.

Aunty Mil has taught Janie about God. When Aunty Mil feels it is about her time to "go to Heaven" she encourages Janie to leave the south and head North for a better life. The Master of the plantation is dead and his widow is leaving to join her family in Philadelphia. Her parting instructions to her former slaves are: "Stay at Rubyhill as long as you like. Take whatever you can use from the house or from anywhere else on the land. My men won't be coming back. Neither will I. May God bless you all and keep you safe."

After the departure of Miz Laura, Janie and four other young form plantation slaves decide to leave "home" and strike out for Chicago. Janie has always wondered what happened to her parents and hopes someday to be reunited with them. The journey to the North is not easy, and the former slaves must trust in God to help them through to a better life.

Janie's Freedom: African-Americans in the Aftermath of the Civil War (make sure the title is in italics), (written by Callie Smith Grant), is told from two perspectives, that of Janie herself and that of Annie, Janie's mother. Both characters tell their stories of how they were separated from their family members and for their hopes to be reunited.

What I Like: I like historical fiction. You get a good sense of what it was like for former slaves living during this time period. Janie's character is based on a composite of former female slaves who still lived in the South after the War.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Christine M. Irvin - Christian Children's Book Review

The year is 1867, and even though the Civil War is over, former slave, Janie, has stayed with her mistress, all this time.
However, the owner leaves the plantation in the hands of the slaves, to do whatever they want. Everything is different now, and Janie has to learn how she should cope with the drastic new changes. It's hard for her to make the right life-changing decision, and leave her old life behind.

I loved this book! It was hard to set it down after I began reading it. Out of the 7 Sisters in Time books, that I have read, this one is the most exhilarating and satisfying, so far!

Reviewed by Natalie Novakowski (age 9) for Reader Views (4/07)


This is a story about an African American girl named Janie. She is 11-years-old. The Civil War is over and Miss Laura tells the slaves at Rubyhill Plantation that they can stay or are free to leave.

Janie doesn't know what to do, where she should go to. She knows that the South is still dangerous and she doesn't know much about the North. If she moves up North, she knows she may lose the chance of finding her mother.

"Janie's Freedom" has a lot of American history in it. I enjoyed reading about the history. I also enjoyed reading about Janie and the things she did. This book has a lot of Christian principles too. I would like to read more books like this.

Book received free of charge.