Fires of Jubilee

by Alison Hart

ABBY IS FREE FROM SLAVERY BUT NOT FROM THE SECRETS OF HER PAST...
It's 1865 in the conquered South and things are not as they were before the war. Thirteen-year-old Abby Joyner still lives on the plantation where she was raised but she and her grandparents are free now and continue on for a small salary.
One thing is the same as it has always been, though -- Abby does not know what became of her mother. Why won't anyone tell her? Abby is determined to find the truth behind her disappearance. But answers are few and she is about to discover that, like freedom, the truth is harder to come by than she could have imagined.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Civil War

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Alison Hart is a pseudonym for writer Alice Leonhardt

A Virginia author of over twenty mysteries and historical fiction novels for children and teens, loves “writing books that keep young readers glued to the pages.” At the age of seven she wrote, illustrated and self-published The Wild Dog, a book which she shows to readers to make the point that it is never too early to be an author.

Reviews

[Priscilla Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine piece of young adult historical fiction, set in the post-Civil War period. when families that had been separated by slavery and by the war were reuniting, and former slaves were learning to live in freedom. The compelling personal story of Abby and her family provides the focus for an account of the period immediately following the War Between the States.

[Mary L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedom means different things to different people and at the end of the civil war it might come with some surprises and secrets as well. To Abby it would mean finding her mother. The task isn't as easy as she thought it would be.

[Lauren Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. I do recommend it! It is a historic fiction, about a girl who is 13 years old. She has been a slave at the Hammond Platation up until the 13th amendment declaring all slaves free. She now continues to work on the Hammond Plataion with her kind Grandmother. In her heart Abby has always wanted one thing. To be free and find out the past of her mother's disappearance! I love reading this book and enjoy fallowing along in this great story.

[Mckenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is awesome so far i like it!it teaches about slavery and every thing else its one big fat book well actually not really but it is awesome!

[Lisa Muller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction.
Thirteen year old Abby Joyner has lived her entire life as an enslaved person. Now it is the spring of 1865, the war is over, and the "master" has returned from the lost cause, recovering from grievous injuries. The plantation is barely surviving.
The "master" and "mistress" have neglected to inform Abby and the other enslaved that the war is over and that they are now free. Abby is outraged when she discovers this, but she also realizes that she would have a difficult time if she left. She wants to find her long lost mother, but no one will give her any information.
The formerly enslaved characters are well-developed and admirable. The author portrays many of the horrors of slavery, but like so many books written for younger readers by white authors, the situation in the book is rather "white-washed." The book could spark interest in the era and in discussions about how history is written.

[Kryssy Claremont · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember being assigned this book for American History in college as extra credit, but I never read it. Saw it second hand and figured, why not read it now. It was a nice quick read, some parts slightly dragging without a whole lot of excitement, but it didn't keep me from wanting to see what would happen. I was so worried about the decisions Abby would have to face in the end and I really wanted to know what happened to Kennedy. I'm glad with how it ended.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Abby Joyner and her grandparents are now free following the end of the Civil War and living and working on the plantation where she was raised. Freedom does not always bring a life of ease, and Abby is determined to find her mother.

[Makenna Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was in the fourth grade this is one of the novels we covered and I remember asking my teacher if I could keep my copy and take it home with me because I loved it so much. She let me have it and it has remained a favorite thing this day.

[SFrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Hart has brought forth again for YA's what I believe to be
an accurate picture/projection of the times, albeit horrid, for
that time period. I there were more stars I would use them.

[Sandybear76]

The civil War has been over for 2-3 months but the slaves are still in the fields, working as slaves. Missus writes out contracts for the ex-slaves so they get paid for their work.

[Antonio Ruiz]

This book was very interesting! It took place in slavery times and talked about a young girl named Abby that was a slave and wanted to find her mother.Everyone kept it a secret that her mother was alive. She used to recieve letters from her birth mother but everyone was keeping them a secret because they didn't want her to know about her mother.

Abby is very open minded and is willing to do whatever to find her mother. Throughout the book, she realizes that her slave owner had lost the plantation and that the slaves were free. She ends of finding a letter that said the slaves were free so she grabs all her stuff and starts to look for her birth mother. During the end of the book she ends her finding her mother and is happy that she found her. You can compare this text to the world because of all the abandon children without with fathers and mothers in the world and looking for searching them.

You can imagine the setting as a plantation as a farm and slaves working the farm. I like this book because of the great seeking Abby looks into and how at the end she finds her mother.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh, I'm not sure this book is very historically accurate. There seemed to be a whole lot of leaps in what happened in this book vs. what I know to be true of slavery times. The plot was okay, but it certainly dragged on at some points. My classroom library won't be missing out if this one leaves the shelves.----------------Reading this one to try to generate more interest in it, as it hasn't left my shelves very often. With History moving to 7th grade, though, maybe this one will pick up in popularity??

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this in elementary school, I think 4th grade, and I loved it very much so. It's memorable, and created vivid imagery in my young mind while I read it. I don't know if I still own it or if I borrowed it from my classroom's library...but I would surely re-purchase this novel.

[Shirley Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

it gives you a different view of the time of slavery that not all white people were mean and liked to beat black people

[Nancy (Colorado) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classroom library preview

[Omar Martinez]

well so far its during the civil war and slavry. this girl abe wants to know where her mother is at.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only difficult part about this book was the language. It really shows how the slaves were treated both during slavery and once they found out they were free. It is a very well written book.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in fourth grade when my teacher gave it to me as a gift. It has really stuck with me and has become one of my favorite books. The characters were so believable and I loved the story.

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story.

[Rayna Gausnell]

Good book!