Historical fiction at its finest! A sweet and sensitive, accessible middle grade novel in verse, following an unlikely friendship in the aftermath of the American Civil War.
The Civil War is over.
Aurelia, the daughter of a destitute plantation owner, reels from the aftermath of a war that has torn her life apart.
Halle, a newly freed slave, looks for a family she fears is lost forever.
When fate brings the two girls together, they head north in a joint quest for freedom: one from human shackles, the other from pride.
Differences and judgment soon give way to an unexpected friendship between two girls who have more in common than meets the eye, as do we all. Heartwarming and life-changing, This Opening Sky is a tale of hope that proves that when love overcomes prejudice, were all set free together.
Excerpts from the This Opening Sky:
Aurelia
My hands are torn,
blistered and bleeding.
No longer the hands of a young lady.
I drop my hoe and unwrap my bandaged fingers.
Nails, once perfectly manicured,
now dirty and broken.
The hands of a field worker.
Sary
Stay, Miss Ruby Lee say.
Please dont go.
She all the mama
I know now.
What if Mama
come for me?
Pa say
he be back.
What if he come
and I be gone?
But if they come
and these folk
dont let me go,
like they do Cassie and Thad,
then what Im gonna do?
Seem like stayin
be wastin
my free.
Genre: Children's Fiction
The Civil War is over.
Aurelia, the daughter of a destitute plantation owner, reels from the aftermath of a war that has torn her life apart.
Halle, a newly freed slave, looks for a family she fears is lost forever.
When fate brings the two girls together, they head north in a joint quest for freedom: one from human shackles, the other from pride.
Differences and judgment soon give way to an unexpected friendship between two girls who have more in common than meets the eye, as do we all. Heartwarming and life-changing, This Opening Sky is a tale of hope that proves that when love overcomes prejudice, were all set free together.
Excerpts from the This Opening Sky:
Aurelia
My hands are torn,
blistered and bleeding.
No longer the hands of a young lady.
I drop my hoe and unwrap my bandaged fingers.
Nails, once perfectly manicured,
now dirty and broken.
The hands of a field worker.
Sary
Stay, Miss Ruby Lee say.
Please dont go.
She all the mama
I know now.
What if Mama
come for me?
Pa say
he be back.
What if he come
and I be gone?
But if they come
and these folk
dont let me go,
like they do Cassie and Thad,
then what Im gonna do?
Seem like stayin
be wastin
my free.
Genre: Children's Fiction