Customer Reviews

Stealing Freedom

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was a treasure. I can't recommend it highly enough. There were passages of this book that I read through tears, while others were read with my heart pounding. The character of Ann Maria is such a courageous, likeable person, I found myself wanting to know more. I was genuinely disappointed when I stopped reading, and can only hope that Prof. Carbone is able to find more information so that she can update us on Ann Maria's life in freedom.

This book is a must-read for anyone who loves good fiction, is interested in the human face of slavery, and for any history-buff.

I picked up this book in the library when I couldn't find much else I wanted to read and I didn't think that it would be that great....I was wrong! This book kept my interest and I could hardly put it down. There were times when tears when in my eyes..other times I wanted to laugh. It is a very touching book and one you won't forget soon.

This book is wonderful! It is about a girl named Ann Maria Weems who lives as a slave during the Civil War. One day, the unthinkable happens. An abolitionist come to free her family is unable to take her. Will she ever see her family again? Be free? Reccomended to anyone who wants to learn about the Civil War, slavery, or just wants a good read.

P.S.- It's also a Mark Twain Award Nominee

My association with Stealing Freedom began while researching into the history of my G, G, G, grandfather, Ellwood Harvey. We have a two page photo essay (Philadelphia Inquirer 1938) which recreated the history of Ellwood helping a slave named Ann Maria Weeks (sic). It was Ellwood who took her from in front of the White House and to William Still's house in Philly. Two days later he took her to NYC where she traveled onto Canada. Little did I know that Ann Maria Weems was a very well-known case in the Underground Railroad circles.
Elisa came to visit Ellwood's grave last year, 150 years after his part in the rescue. Her book is very accurate, but sited Dr. H since that was how William Still reported Ellwood Harvey in his book on the UGRR. In the back of the paperback edition Elisa acknowledges that Ellwood was Dr. H.
He was an abolitionist (his letter about witnessing a slave auction can be found in Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, A Key To Uncle Tom's Cabin, and on various internet sites. Ellwood was a supporter of women's rights. He taught at the Female Medical College of Philadelphia in the 1850. It was the first college in the world for female doctors. Part of the reason he rescued Ann was to get the $300 reward from Lewis Tappan. He used that to buy a dissection mannequin for the women's college. Ellwood continued to hide runaway slaves in his stable loft in Chester, PA during the Civil War.
Ann made it to Buxton, Canada, but nobody knows anything about her after that. Bryan Prince, a Canadian museum curator and author, has a book coming out on the whole Weems family in 2008. Should be a good read.
I love historical fiction and Ms. Carbone does it well. The fact that I am related to one of the characters in this particular book is icing on the cake.

Ann Maria Weems is a slave in America. Her family is bought and freed, but her master refuses to free Ann. So Ann conceives of a daring plan - she will steal her freedom from her master and escape on the underground railroad. I loved this book because of the excitement of the escape, constantly changing disguises as she travels north by carraige and by train. The book has a happy but exciting ending. It's perfect for a 10 year old avid reader-like me!

I highly recomend this book. When Ann finally said goodbye to her family I could not stop crying. It is a wonderfully written book, it makes you feel as if you are there. I do wish she had expanded on the ending though. It was one of the best books I have ever read and I hope it is the same for you too.

I teach in a self-contained special education classroom; where reading is the last thing on my highschooler's "to do list". They absolutely loved this book! We stretched it out into our social studies class, where they loved learning about the Underground Railroad. I highly recommend this book!

I think this book is a really good book. I think this book is really good because I like the way the author used her words. The author is a girl. Her name is Natalie Kinsey Warnock. I think she deserves a big applause. I wish she came to my school for one of the author visits. That is how much I like this author. If I could change the bok, I would change the words just a little bit. I would rearange the words. If I could meet this author, I think it would be awesome. That is what I like about the book and the author. If she has any other books that I new about, I would read them in a heartbeat. That is all I have to say. You Have To Read This Book.

Ozi Sander Stealing Freedom
Elisa Carbone

Stealing Freedom is a book about a girl that is a slave. She and her family are torn apart by their master. The master did this bad thing because he wanted to spread a family apart. A man named Jacob had only enough to buy most of the family but one thing that he didn't have enough money to buy was the daughter. So they are ripped apart and all Jacob can do is try to help her steal her freedom that she always wanted. I really liked this book a lot. One reason that I liked this book is because of the way it was written. It was told kind of like a journal. I would really recommend this book to anybody that likes adventure books\history books.

I loved Stealing Freedom! It was suspenseful! It is one of my favorite books, i recommend it to anyone who likes realistic books or if you have to do a report on black slavery. You should read Stealing Freedom!