Underground

by Jean Ferris

In 1839, visitors from miles around come to Kentucky to tour Mammoth Cave. But sixteen-year-old Charlotte, the maid at Mammoth Cave Hotel, doesn't understand its appeal. As a slave, she is already trapped, and she doesn't see the point in risking being trapped underground as well. Still, she's curious when Stephen Bishop, another slave who is the cave's expert guide and chief explorer, makes some big discoveries underground, and she's interested in Stephen himself, with his quick mind and kind ways. Then Charlotte makes a discovery of her runaway slaves sometimes come to the hotel seeking refuge. As she helps them, she wonders if she should run away. Stephen, on the other hand, feels that he belongs with the cave and that he is free enough when he is underground. When an opportunity presents itself, Charlotte must decide whether she should stay with Stephen or risk everything for her own chance at freedom.

In this compelling novel, two young people explore what sorts of freedom they can find, even as slaves.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Young Adult, Teen, Fiction, Middle Grade

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2007

About the author

This author is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects: living with a deaf parent (Of Sound Mind), facing the consequences of a criminal act (Bad), or questioning one's sexuality (Eight Seconds). But Jean Ferris is also adept at writing comedy, historical fiction, and romance. What's most interesting is that she didn't publish her first novel until she was in her mid-40s. Yet she's never forgotten the intense feelings and changes of her own teenage years. Critics as well as teen readers have seen the evidence of that in her writing and have honored her novels with a number of awards, from Best Books for Young Adults to various state and National Book Award nominations.

Reviews

[Janeen Miklos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a work of fiction but based on real people. A group of slaves that worked at the Mammoth Cave Hotel. Three of them were guides in the cave. Very very good read!

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlotte is a sixteen year old slave, recently sold for the fifth time to work in the Mammoth Cave Hotel. She knows how to stay under the radar and survive, but inside, she chafes against slavery and yearns to be free.

Stephen is eighteen, and the main guide for the extensive Mammoth Cave. He loves the cave, and knows it better than anyone, and when he is inside the cave, he feels free. Inside the cave, even the white men follow his instructions.

When Charlotte begins to fall in love with Stephen, she understands that no matter how free Stephen feels, he isn't, and will never be, as long as he is a slave.

And then Charlotte discovers that runaway slaves are using the Mammoth Hotel as a stopover on their road to the North and freedom. She knows that she has to help any way she can. But when it becomes necessary to involve Stephen and his cave, things get more complicated. Is Stephen the kind of person Charlotte wants him to be? And how much will he be willing to risk his comfortable position and the cave that he loves to help the desperate runners?

This is a quick book, and there is very little that's new in it, but it's a good read all the same. Charlotte is a likeable narrator, and it's impossible not to feel her pain and to empathise with her.

What the flap doesn't tell you is that this book is based loosely on real events.

[Karyn Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlotte, a sixteen year old African-American, deals with the brutality of slavery and helps other slaves escape while she works as a maid in the Mammoth Hotel, by the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. A good read for teenagers who want to know more about the harsh reality of slavery. Also, interesting story about the cave and helping slaves escape.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read of the discovery and exploration of the Mammoth Cave system by Stephen Bishop , an 18 year old slave, back in 1839. Amazing and brave man. Book is a children's fiction book, but anyone interested in Mammoth cave would likely enjoy this fictional account.

[Wren · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice story . The ending was a little abrupt but that's alright

[Emilie Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out so well. It skipped time a lot which was hard to follow. The ending was also really bad it just kind of ended. It seemed like they just gave up writing the book and ended it.

[Carli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. It created suspense for me. Also I love ❤️ books 📚 that create suspense for me. 🤩👍🏻

[Jammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The main character, Charlotte is a sixteen year old slave, and she was recently sold for the fifth time to work in the Mammoth Cave Hotel. As someone who has had several owners before, she knows how to fly under the radar and keep attention off herself.

She meets Stephen who is 18 years old and also a slave. He is also the main guide for cave tours, and feels that he is safe because he is so good at his job. He loves the cave, and truly knows it better than anyone, in fact he has discovered most of the new rooms and underground rivers. The cave gives him a feeling of power since even white people follow his instructions down there, and many of them talk to him like an equal in there. He begins to teach Charlotte how to read, and eventually it leads to them having a relationship.

The plot thickens when Charlotte realizes that runaway slaves are using the Mammoth Hotel as a stopover on their road to the North and freedom. She is scared since the consequences are death for helping, but she knows she can't do nothing. One night when Charlotte and Stephen are going to the cave to learn to read, they stumble upon a runaway slave, and Stephen ends up getting involved as well.

At the end you find out that this book is based loosely on true events. This book would be great for middle schoolers who have to read historical fiction for a class or report. It's short and to the point, and once I started it I was hooked until the end.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book I would have ever picked up if I wasn't a teen librarian with the ridiculous goal of reading 1/3 of her fiction collection. However, I am glad I read it because I think it will be a good book to recommend to teens who aren't big readers and have to read historical fiction for school -- it's a short, fast read, there's some suspense, the characters are sympathetic and likable, and the reader learns a little bit about the history of slavery in Kentucky. Because the slaves in the book have a relatively "good" situation (they work in a hotel where they are not whipped and have more autonomy than most slaves), readers who don't have the stomach for reading about the daily violence to which most slaves were subjected will not find much objectionable in these pages. That said, the book doesn't sugarcoat slavery either -- the main characters do discuss freedom and the injustice of being owned by another human being. And they have to make some hard choices that modern readers may puzzle over -- could be a good book for discussion too. This was one of the suggested further readings for teens in the My Jim tool kit (Seattle Reads 2009).

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there have been many excellent books about the Underground Railroad written for elementary or middle school students, this book features an unusual perspective. The main characters, Charlotte Brown and Stephen Bishop, were slaves at Mammoth Cave during the early days of the cave's development as a tourist attraction. As a housekeeper and a cave guide, these two characters enjoy considerably more freedom than would have been possible for most slaves. The cruelty of slavery is not ignored, but does take place outside the focus of the story. As a romance develops between Charlotte and Stephen, the slaves at the resort are able to assist runaway slaves on their way to Ohio and beyond. Information about the exploration of Mammoth Cave adds an additional layer of interest to this historical novel. For classroom use, this would be an excellent book to pair with Journey to the Bottomless Pit: The story of Stephen Bishop & Mammoth Cave by Elizabeth Mitchell. An author's note at the conclusion of the book will be useful in helping readers separate the actual history of the Mammoth Cave area from the fictional details.

[Bob (IBR1) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this historical non-fiction book Stephen, Charlotte, Mat, Nick, and Mittie are working for the slave keeper Mr. Gorin, in Kentucky. Charlotte, Stephen, and Mittie are helping runners get through to the north. Will they get caught, Will Stephen and Charlotte's love for each other be broken apart. Find out in the book Underground by Jean Ferris.

The strengths of this book are Ferris used very descriptive words to describe the cave so it felt like I was in the cave. She also had very good description when the slaves were helping the runners escape and it was pouring rain. The weakness of the book in my opinion is the author could have put more action in when the people came who wanted to track down the runners. I liked it when Stephen and Charlotte were in the cave, the author described everything in a white room and I felt like I was there.

Overall the book was a really good book and it told me a lot about slavery in Kentucky.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's 1839, Charlotte is sixteen and the new maid at Mammoth Cave Hotel. She doesn't understand the appeal of the cave and doesn't want to go in there herself. But another slave, Stephen, makes some big discoveries in the cave, which has her a little curious.

Pretty soon Charlotte gets caught up in the world of the underground rail, helping runaway slaves. And she wonders what it would be like, to run away and have freedom. But there's Stephen, who she has feelings for. And she's not sure if she wants to stay or go.

The book was interesting at parts, but I thought could be slow. I never felt that I could to know the characters or had a connection with them. So, the book was okay. An interesting read, but not something I'd read again. However, I really enjoyed the author's note, which explained about the real Stephen and Charlotte.

[Cornmaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent pre-Civil War book about slaves in Kentucky who are thrust into the risk of assisting runaway slaves. The narrator, Charlotte, a teenager, must make a difficult choice at the end.

The danger increase as the story unfolds, as does the tension. I couldn't put it down. I loved the discussion of the reality of slave life depending on your geographical location and owner, along with the ever present worry of whether you or someone you loved would be sold the next day and torn away from your life.

And the icing on the cake was that the characters, along with their names, were based on real people and real facts, all discussed in the author's end notes. That made the novel all the richer.

Great pick for an historical fiction unit in school.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally don't reach for these kind of books. I felt like it was going to turn out suitable for a fifth grade and under audience but I really did like it. It was a nice read that any age could turn to because it did not show the violence of what truly happened back then. Two out of the five main characters did not jump out at me, but the other three were truly remarkable. It didn't drag on at all. I liked how in the end, in the author's note, it said that the characters were actual real life people and then proceeded to give the history of each individual. It was nice to see the book I just read to be based on real people and imagine what life was like for them even though the events are purely made up.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a gripping short novel about slaves living and working at Kentucky's Mammoth Cave in 1839. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte has been sold to the owner of a hotel near the cave, where tourists stay when they explore the cave system. She meets Stephen Bishop, who is the guide who knows the caves and has explored their secrets. Charlotte and Stephen get caught up in the Underground Railway and even hide slaves in the cave. Charlotte decides that she wants to run away to freedom, although she is torn between her desire to stay with Stephen and to find freedom. Both Charlotte and Stephen were actual people at that time and the novel is based upon what is known of their story.

[Lyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about slaves who worked at hotel at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Based on some true characters- Stephen Bishop really was a slave and a guide who discovered many features of the cave and his maps were published. In the book, the cave is used to hide runaway slaves. The author says that this isn't based on fact, but it is very tempting to think that this could have happened, as the cave has over 300 miles of underground passages and it was on a route that slaves used to escape across the Ohio River.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to students on an intermediate-to-middle-school reading level. It tells an Underground Railroad story from a slightly different aspect, for it features Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Stephen the fictional-based-on-truth character who leads tour groups through it, despite it also being a hiding place for slaves escaping to freedom in the North. The philosophical thread of discussion throughout the book regarding the concept of freedom is a very-much-welcome added bonus to the story line. A fascinating view of pre-Civil War history!!!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is told from Charlotte's perspective. Charlotte is a slave who works at the Mammoth Cave Hotel. Stephen is another slave that spends a great deal of time exploring Mammoth Cave and leading tours of the caves for the guests of the hotel. (This part is based on historical fact...Charlotte and Stephen were real slaves at Mammoth Cave Hotel.) However, in this novel Charlotte and Stephen use the caves to help runaway slaves escape to freedom. (This part is fictionalized.)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Realistic view of what it was like to be a slave (albeit in good circumstances) and the choices of whether to run or not. I can easily recommend this to my students studying slavery with a "what would you do in Charlotte's shoes"? It's also an interesting look into some of the history of Mammoth Cave.

[Alyssa (The Shady Glade) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually really enjoy Jean Ferris. But this one was a little disappointing. I think in the end it was just a little too short to really explore the plot and character much. Still, it was an interesting read, especially in light of the author's note at the end. Worth reading, just not one of my favorites.

[Melissa Dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally rated G by Linda Wozman
Underground provides the reader with an unusual story of slavery. Based on real people and places, the book is both a love and adventure story. Accurately portraying the precarious and cruel life of a slave, it is a book that is engrossing in its narrative as well as historically informative.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have admired all those who sacrificed so much in helping slaves escape the terrible times prior to and during the Civil War. Although this book is fiction it is based in a great deal of fact. The facts are fascinating - the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. It was an easy read and very interesting.

[Cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charolotte is a slave at the Mammoth Cave Hotel in the 1840's. She discovers that the cook is a helper in the slave underground railroad. Facing fears of both going into the cave and being caught helping runaway slaves, Charolotte finds strength within to make decisions that are right for her.

[Edy Gies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this story. It had a good balance of excitement and well thought out story lines. It would be good for students who have visited Mammoth Caves and can use that in their comprehension of the story and events.

[Haaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was good. I liked that the characters were based on actual people and Mammoth cave is an actual place even though their story was completely fictional. The ending wasnt what I suspected but it wasnt bad. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes historical fiction.

[Shellie Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject, based on real life characters in Mammoth Cave history

[Chantel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle read based on real people living during the time of slavery. It had a wonderful "feel" with characters I cared about. For grades 6+

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1839 in Kentucky/Mammoth Cave. Helping escaped slaves and questioning the laws of the land, along with cool caving stuff.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read with a particular appeal becuase of the Kentucky history (even if it is fictionalized).

[Sandee Mariner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book drew me in. I love her style of writing and i am curious to read her other titles.

this is my other 2006-2008 read