Return to the American Revolution in this blistering conclusion to the middle grade Seeds of America trilogy.As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon have narrowly escaped Valley Forge—but their relief is short-lived. Before long they are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel’s little sister Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state—where bounty hunters are thick as flies.
Heroism and heartbreak pave their path, but Isabel and Curzon won’t stop until they reach Ruth, and then freedom, in this grand finale to the acclaimed
New York Times bestselling trilogy from Laurie Halse Anderson.
"As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel's little sister Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state"--
The concluding volume of Anderson’s Seeds of America Trilogy finds slaves Isabel and Curzon on the run as the War for Independence draws to a close. They were adolescents when the war began in
Chains (BCCB 11/08), and now as young adults they face not only the trials of war and desperate strategies to secure their personal freedom but also their feelings for each other as they try to envision an adult future. Curzon has agreed to stay with Isabel until she locates her younger sister, Ruth. The anticipated reunion, however, doesn’t bring the joy Isabel hoped for: Ruth wants nothing to do with her, having formed a warm family bond with a slave couple on their owners’ South Carolina property. Moreover, Curzon has now discharged his promised obligation, and considering his and Isabel’s disagree- ment on whether their best chances lie with the British or Continentals, it seems likely he will go his own way. Still, the three head northward together and Isabel reaches a tentative rapprochement with Ruth, but Isabel still worries about Curzon’s intentions. He throws his lot in with the Patriots, and it is during the hard-fought battle at Yorktown that Isabel finally realizes his love for his country is as big and as passionate as his love for her, and to him, there is no difference. If this seems a bit sunny, given the grim episodes they have weathered throughout the series, Anderson leaves the details of their future for readers to work out. With slave catchers on the prowl at the war’s end, the Continental Army unable (unwilling?) to protect its black fighters, and a long road ahead to safety in the North, there’s no lock on happily ever after. A Q & A–styled appendix provides additional historical context and suggested resources.
