Soon Be Free

Steal Away Home #2

by Lois Ruby

"Why do weird things always happen to me?"
Dana thought she had solved all the historical mysteries in her parents' house in Lawrence, Kansas. But now that her parents have turned the house into a bed-and-breakfast, Dana isn't so sure. Their first guests, the Burks, are a suspicious couple who snoop where they shouldn't, searching for a secret document linked to the Weavers, a Quaker family who lived in the house almost 150 years ago when the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
As Dana combs the house for the hidden document, the story unfolds of thirteen-year-old James Baylor Weaver and his journey in 1857 to bring four slaves to freedom. James's travels will not only change his life but will bring about a horrible choice -- one that holds the key to the mystery Dana must solve before the Burks. Will she find the document in time?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Lois Ruby is the author of fifteen books for middle-graders and teens, including STEAL AWAY HOME, SKIN DEEP, and THE SECRET OF LAUREL OAKS. She and her husband live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the foothills of the awesome Sandia Mountains. Lois explores lots of haunted places, including ghostly locations in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and even a few spooky spots in Australia and Thailand. No spirits have tapped her on the shoulder yet, but she hasn't given up hope.

Reviews

[Bobbe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be best for grades 5-8 and should be read after Steal Away Home. Both are informative and give understanding about the Underground Railroad in a mystery format. Every other chapter is set in the mid 1800's with the alternating chapters set in the present. I found parts of this book confusing and kept a character list, which I highly recommend.

[Sharon Gallup · Rating 4 out of 5]

as a youth reader book. the story was fairly good. it is one of those stories that one chapter is in the now age and the next into the past. but what i liked about this book is as you read it the first chapter tells the now time and the next chapter kind of explains why and how things had happened in the past to lead to the now. this continues all through the novel. into days time a family moves into a house and finds a skeleton in the wall. and their daughter decides to find out how and why it was placed there. This story continues a story of the slavey and how the people in the past ran a underground railway to save many of the slaves. and in between the slaves the natives that lived in that time. The government had given the natives the rights and a land title copy of prove that they owned the land. but the title copy went missing so the pioneers of that time pushed them off their land. The young girl loves mysteries so she and her friends find themselves in a deep mystery of who ,what , where and why . This novel is a great book for the young readers

[Shyla Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

i didnt really like it

[Faith Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soon Be Free is a book told in the first person point of view. It's about a girl named Dana Shannon, who finds an old skeleton in her brand new house, in Lawrence, Kansas. After doing research about the soon-to-be bed and breakfast, it comes to find out that that house once was an old settlement for runaway slaves. During that, the book actually goes back in time after every other chapter, to the house during that time period. The main character in that time is a boy named James Baylor. A boy who lived in the house and protects and cares for every slave that comes to his need. But when an old slave dies in his house, is when they stop their business; afraid that they might get caught and therefore get in trouble. After all they did bury her in their house. James doesn't stop there though. He wants to go all the way to Oklahoma to rescue four, not freed slaves who happen to be related to the elder one who pasted away. He wants to do this because that was the slaves dream. After reading it, I would give this book a good three stars. It had a great story-line and setting, but I didn't like how it went from past to present. I would forget what happened last, so I would have to go to the recent chapter and read the last few sentences. Though I can admit that this is one of those books that I could not stop reading. At the end of every chapter, it would leave you hanging. I actually stayed up until eleven o'clock at night just reading.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great adventure; I love the parallel stories of the Weaver's and the Shannon's. Not that I ever wanted to find a skeleton in my house, but I loved the idea of these kinds of adventures when I was a kid. *Some mild language

[Chey · Rating 5 out of 5]

mystery of true accounts of the underground railroad of slaves and struggle of american indians ,this book goes from past to future intreging true accounts

[Samira · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book. She did a good job flipping back and forth between present and past.