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Sunfire #22
Corey
Corey, a sixteen-year-old former slave, is torn between Penn Wilson, who wants to return to the South, and Ned, who asks Corey to go west with him
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 24, 2009
Oh look! A young woman of color gets to have romance in this Sunfire book! I haven't read this one, but I think I will try to track it down via interlibrary loan. I want to read it, especially since it will work for my librarians read challenge.
UPDATE: I was surprised by how short this book was. In my memory, the Sunfire books were really long, three or four hundred pages. Is that just my imagination? This one was only about 170 pages.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book. There was the teen romance aspect of it, which was just as cheesey as I expected, but it actually at least touched on some real issues like black soldiers in the Union army not getting paid, class being a factor in how people were treated, and the problematic nature of the US army using black soldiers to fight against Native Americans. I didn't expect any of that in a teen romance book.
I am glad I read this book.
UPDATE: I was surprised by how short this book was. In my memory, the Sunfire books were really long, three or four hundred pages. Is that just my imagination? This one was only about 170 pages.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book. There was the teen romance aspect of it, which was just as cheesey as I expected, but it actually at least touched on some real issues like black soldiers in the Union army not getting paid, class being a factor in how people were treated, and the problematic nature of the US army using black soldiers to fight against Native Americans. I didn't expect any of that in a teen romance book.
I am glad I read this book.
August 21, 2014
We have Suitor #1: You must settle down and have my babies and clean my house because I am the MAN!
Then there's Suitor #2: You must follow your dreams! Because you are independent and feisty! And beautiful!
Guess who wins.
Then there's Suitor #2: You must follow your dreams! Because you are independent and feisty! And beautiful!
Guess who wins.
November 21, 2015
I read this book as a fourth grader and, nearly 30 years later, vividly remember the title and the cover art so that I was able to easily search for and identify this book. As corny as the text may be, the story of Corey's journey to freedom left a lasting impression on me. I believe this book -- with its strong, capable and intelligent black female lead -- shaped my views of race and left a lasting intellectual and social impact on me that resonates to this day. I am ordering Corey for my 10-year-old daughter so this book can hopefully become a part of her life like it was in mine.
February 28, 2016
Corey's character stayed consistent throughout the story and she was able to keep a level head. The romance progressed believably.
July 3, 2017
I originally read this series back in the 80s, checking them out from my elementary school library. Having re-read them as an adult I think they stand the test of time and are still relevant as far as historical fiction is concerned.
January 6, 2009
I read this book when I went through my historical romance phase back in junior high school. Very moving story and historically accurate. I enjoyed reading this book although I was torn about the ending.
August 17, 2015
COREY!!!!! This one was short - I remember that. Too short.
December 17, 2017
Nostalgia read- This book is part of the Sunfire series of girls set in a historical period of time. My biggest problem with this book is the weighty subject matter being told in 170 pages. The topics of slavery, Civil War, and the assassination of President Lincoln are much to big for this format. I usually like Miner's books (there are many different authors in this series, some better than others) but the subject matters in this book do not fit the Sunfire format in my opinion.
July 23, 2020
i enjoyed this more than i remembered.
May 12, 2017
*Rereading my way through the Sunfire series, in publication order*
Sixteen year old Corey is a slave on a South Carolina plantation. She has it somewhat better than others on the plantation, working in the house and learning to read, but she still dreams of escaping for a free life in the north with her mother, sold to a neighboring family four years ago. She gets her opportunity when the war reaches their plantation. Along with her sweetheart Ned and a shoeful of money, Corey sets off north on the Jubilee Trail, in search of both her mother and a life of her own making. She finds the latter in Philadelphia at a Quaker school, where her education is respected and encouraged, and in the possibilities offered by a new love interest, writer, abolitionist, and principal Penn Wilson. Poor Ned, illiterate, impractical, and unable to see ambition for either himself or for Corey, doesn't stand a chance. It's easy to dismiss the "So you want to stay home and have my babies, right?" suitor in a Sunfire, but it seems almost unfair to dismiss Ned so summarily, as he doesn't necessarily speak from a blinkered or patriarchal viewpoint, but rather one built upon a lifetime of doing what one is told and not expecting anything beyond that. Miner does handle the divergence of their relationship gently, but I think she could have taken it in a different direction than the usual Sunfire trope.
Overall this is a good addition to the Sunfire series, with solid history and a nice character arc for Corey. As the only Sunfire featuring a woman of color, its short length is unfortunate (it's a slim 170 pages), as Miner could have done more with this smart, determined heroine and her story. But a satisfying read nonetheless.
Sixteen year old Corey is a slave on a South Carolina plantation. She has it somewhat better than others on the plantation, working in the house and learning to read, but she still dreams of escaping for a free life in the north with her mother, sold to a neighboring family four years ago. She gets her opportunity when the war reaches their plantation. Along with her sweetheart Ned and a shoeful of money, Corey sets off north on the Jubilee Trail, in search of both her mother and a life of her own making. She finds the latter in Philadelphia at a Quaker school, where her education is respected and encouraged, and in the possibilities offered by a new love interest, writer, abolitionist, and principal Penn Wilson. Poor Ned, illiterate, impractical, and unable to see ambition for either himself or for Corey, doesn't stand a chance. It's easy to dismiss the "So you want to stay home and have my babies, right?" suitor in a Sunfire, but it seems almost unfair to dismiss Ned so summarily, as he doesn't necessarily speak from a blinkered or patriarchal viewpoint, but rather one built upon a lifetime of doing what one is told and not expecting anything beyond that. Miner does handle the divergence of their relationship gently, but I think she could have taken it in a different direction than the usual Sunfire trope.
Overall this is a good addition to the Sunfire series, with solid history and a nice character arc for Corey. As the only Sunfire featuring a woman of color, its short length is unfortunate (it's a slim 170 pages), as Miner could have done more with this smart, determined heroine and her story. But a satisfying read nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews