Steal Away to Freedom [School & Library Binding]

Jennifer Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

1896, Susannah, Bethlehem, Mary and Free. Two women in their 50s, two girls 13--drawn together to write down the story of the women's 1855 escape from a slaveholding farm in Virginia. Susannah's guardian is Bethlehem's "master"--a minister and advocate of slavery. When the women are themselves 13, mistress and slave defiantly join forces to steal away North to freedom. Bethlehem, 1855: "It was a longer road that I had ever guessed, and I am on it still." Her road is ours.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the fall of 1896 elderly Susannah McKnight coaxes her granddaughter Mary to travel with her to Canada to visit someone Mary regards as an "old slave woman." Mary's vision of Bethlehem Reid is shattered, however, when she hears an amazing story of undying friendship and courage. As young girls Susannah and Bethlehem helped each other escape to the North: for Bethlehem, freedom; for Susannah, a return to the home she loved. Rich and emotionally resonant, this compelling, true story is told in compassionate, lush language; delighting not only in its poetic imagery and uncompromising clarity of expression but in the suspense and adventure of the girls' flight to personal liberty. Bethlehem and Susannah's friendship, born of circumstance and necessity, is never sentimentalized but remains fierce and heartbreaking to the last. This powerful, moving and thought-provoking narrative is sure to stay with readers long after it is finished. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- The title comes from a spiritual used as a signal to slaves that the time had come for them to make a run for freedom. Susannah, 13, thinks about such matters in the abstract until the year her parents die and she is taken to Virginia to live with her uncle's family. She believes that slavery is wrong, and matters are made worse when she is given a slave, Bethlehem. Susannah befriends her, teaches her to read, and then asks her help getting back to Vermont. While the story line is occasionally unrealistic--the girls have much too easy a time running north, for example--its strength lies in its unstinting examination of emotions. Bethlehem deals with her hatred of slavery, her resentment of the white girl, and her need to go on to Canada rather than to stay with Susannah, now a friend. Susannah must come to terms with her feelings about the black race. And her granddaughter, to whom the story is told, finds her own eyes opened and her prejudices exposed. Characterization of the main heroines is sound, although the secondary players never come to life. Despite the facile surface, the issues explored in this book run deep. When read with William Katz's Breaking the Chains (Atheneum, 1990), this will go a long way toward explicating the damage done by slavery. --Ann Welton, Thomas Academy, Kent, WA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: Rebound by Sagebrush (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785724524
• ISBN-13: 978-0785724520
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,998,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IS HOME MORE THAN JUST A PLACE?, October 23, 2000

By 

Plume45 "kitka12345" (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Steal Away (Paperback)

This book is hard to put down, for Jennifer Armstrong weaves a compelling story of interracial friendships--a tale within a tale which spans 3 generations. Alternating between 1855 (when Slavery was grimly legal) and the "present" of 1896, STEAL AWAY presents readers with a literary device known shared narratives, so that each girl very has the opportunity to give a first-person account of their flight from Virginia to the their new life up North. Both their modern counterparts, Mary and Free, are captivated, as elderly women whom they love and respect recount the details of this 40-year-old odyssey; the girls share their writing-down task, as they marvel at the pages--the seal of their lifelong devotion. Will two strange girls be able to bond, by the mere act of the retelling, for it was both a physical and an emotional journey to find freedom and Home?

Thirteen-year-old Susannah is suddenly orphaned and forced to leave the family farm in Vermont, with all its precious memories of her parents, the boy next door, and her carefree existence. She must travel by train (an ordeal in itself) down to a new world, in Virginia, to the farm of her Reverend uncle, who firmly believes in the insitution of slavery. But Susannah will never fit into this genteel Southern society; she does not even know how to treat or address her own personal slave!

Longing to put plantation life and its immoral abuse of dark-skinned human beings behind her forever, spunky Susannah resolves to run away and sneak back to the only home she has ever known. But she needs the help of more worldy-wise Bethlehem, to prepare for this dangerous enterprise. Suddenly circumstances force both girls to depart together, with a minimum of preparation. Beth longs for Canada--a place on a map where there is no slavery. Would she truly be safe in free Vermont? Susannah has also broken the law, for she taught Beth to read, and now is helping a slave escape from its rightful owner.

Can two young teenage girls disappear without a trace, even disguised as boys? Will there be anyone to trust on this perilous undertaking? What do they know of the Undeground Railroad? Their relationship undergoes many transformations, as Susannah becomes increasingly dependent on her pessimistic companion for survival. Yet Bethlehem dreads the unspoken but inevitable fork in the road--where each one must choose which path leads to her true Home in a hostile world. A gripping tale which will captivate readers of all ages with its raw emotions and mutual coming of age; it offers implications for today's racial relations and should have won some Newbery award!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not the best historical fiction, June 13, 2003

By 

...Loggie... "Loggie-log-log-log" (I live on the earth, in the western hemisphere, in North America, in the country of the United States of America, in Illinois in the town of Champaign) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Steal Away (Paperback)

The book was written well, but in a confusing format. Mary is writing down a story from her grandmother's childhood, with help from a girl named Free. The book however starts with a message from Mary to Free written later when they had grown up. This letter, and the one at the end as well, confused me and threw me off.
The story being told is, as I said, about Mary's Grandmother. She was born in Vermont in a time before slavery was abolished. This is the story of how when her parents died she was sent to live in Virginia with her slave owning, preacher uncle. The fact that a preacher owns slaves confuses her because she has grown up in Vermont, and she is further set off balance by being given a slave named Bethlehem. They decide to run away, and throughout their travels you can't tell if they are friends or people who are determined that the other is a burden on them.

For better historical fiction I suggest Ann Rinaldi

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful on any level, July 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Steal Away (Paperback)

I reccomend this book to anyone. A story of 2 girls, a white yankee and a slave, banding together to fight for freedom, and so much more. This powerful story is testament to the struggles of the races in the 1800's. Whether you are interested in slavery and the south or not, this book is for you.