Soon Be Free (Companion To: Steal Away Home) [Hardcover]

Lois Ruby (Author), Jean Francois Podevin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Companion To: Steal Away Home

I ask you, why do weird things always happen to me?

Thirteen-year-old Dana Shannon is no stranger to intrigue. Not long ago she discovered a skeleton behind a wall in her family's house -- a house in Lawrence, Kansas, that was once owned by a Quaker family, the Weavers. The diary Dana found in the sealed-off room revealed that the skeleton belonged to a runaway slave named Lizbeth Charles.

Now Dana's house is a newly refurbished bed-and-breakfast, and the first guests are two shady characters who believed the house is hiding another secret. When Dana gets in their way, she becomes embroiled in a second mystery, this one involving slaves and the Weavers again, and -- somehow - Delaware Indians.

As Dana tried to fit the puzzle pieces together, alternate chapters tell the story of James Baylor Weaver, a thirteen-year-old boy, in 1857. It is up to James to fulfill a promise Lizbeth made before her death. He must travel hundreds of miles to retrieve four slaves and bring them to freedom. The journey will test his strength, endurance, and courage; it will also test his character, when he has to make a terrible choice...

Readers of Soon Be Free will quickly be caught up in this fast-paced mystery-adventure that links teenagers from two different centuries.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The ill-starred pioneer family of Mary Jane Auch's Journey to Nowhere and Frozen Summer returns in The Road to Home. This installment, set in 1817, finds 13-year-old Remembrance Nye leading her younger siblings back from upstate New York to their grandmother's house in Connecticut. (Holt, $16.95 ages 9-12 ISBN 0-8050-4921-5; July) A companion to Steal Away Home, Lois Ruby's Soon Be Free alternates between a present-day mystery set in a bed-and-breakfast and a historical adventure about a 13-year-old boy who aids four runaway slaves in 1857. (S&S, $17 ages 8-12 ISBN 0-689-83266-4; Aug.) THE TEDDY BEARS' PICNIC Jimmy Kennedy, illus. by Alexandra Day. S&S/Aladdin, $5.99 ISBN 0-689-83530-2. ~ The illustrator of Good Dog, Carl creates a cozy woodland gathering of cuddly bears, inspired by a favorite song. Ages 3-6. (June) BLAZE FINDS THE TRAIL C.W. Anderson. S&S/Aladdin, $4.99 ISBN 0-689-83520-5. ~ Originally published in 1950, this story of Billy and his adventures exploring the forest with his pony is available in paperback for the first time, complete with colorized cover art. Three more Blaze books previously available only in hardcover will follow. Ages 5-8. (July) ~ SECRET LETTERS FROM 0 TO 10 Susie Morgenstern, trans. by Gill Rosner. Puffin, $4.99 ISBN 0-14-130819-2. ~ "Set in France and wrought with energy and wit, this chronicle of a deprived young man whose life is turned topsy-turvy with a new neighbor's arrival is not to be missed," wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) THE BOXES William Sleator. Puffin, $4.99 ISBN 0-14-130810-9. ~ This tale of a girl who, like Pandora, is given not one but two boxes she is forbidden to open, is filled with the author's "signature high-style ick and suspense," said PW. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) THE MARVELOUS MISADVENTURES OF SEBASTIAN Lloyd Alexander. Puffin, $4.99 ISBN 0-14-130816-8. ~ Spiced with the author's unique brand of wit, this winner of the 1971 National Book Award follows a young adventurer with good intentions through disaster after disaster. Ages 10-14. (July) REACHING DUSTIN Vicki Grove. Puffin, $5.99 ISBN 0-698-11839-1. ~ PW called this "a heartfelt story that unmasks the vulnerabilities of two preadolescents from very different walks of life." Ages 10-up. (Aug.) SOMEONE LIKE YOU Sarah Dessen. Puffin, $4.99 ISBN 0-14-130269-0. ~ PW said this "realistic portrayal of contemporary teens and their moral challenges breathes fresh life into well-worn themes of rebellion and first love." Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-This is a disappointing sequel to Steal Away Home (Macmillan, 1994), which told the exciting story of Dana Shannon's discovery of a skeleton in the closet-the body of Miz Lizbet Charles, a runaway slave hidden in her house, which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. As this book opens, a mysterious stranger is snooping around, trying to dig up the yard by the house, which Dana's parents have converted into a bed-and-breakfast. Dana, now 13, enlists her friends' help to uncover the man's identity and mission. As this contemporary story unfolds, alternating chapters tell the story of James Baylor Weaver, who lived in the house in the 1850s, and who became a well-known architect. With all of the material the author tries to incorporate-the bloody struggle in Kansas between free- and slave-state factions, courageous runaway slaves, a dangerous journey-the plot is overloaded. At the last minute, an important subplot surfaces, adding to the crowded and confusing cast of characters. None of the figures emerges as fully realized or even believable and the modern story is further weighted down by stereotypes and dialogue that tries too hard to be hip and fun. Virginia Hamilton's House of Dies Drear (Macmillan, 1968) and Jennifer Armstrong's Steal Away (Scholastic, 1993) are just two titles that tell similar tales more effectively.
Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689832664
• ISBN-13: 978-0689832666
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,124,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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