War Comes to Willy Freeman

Arabus Family Saga #1

by James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier (Contributor), Sam Fraunces (Contributor)

Willy Freeman's life changes forever when she witnesses her father's death at the hands of the Redcoats and returns home to find that the British have taken her mother as a prisoner to New York City.

Willy, disguised as a boy, begins her long search for her mother and luckily finds a haven at the famous Fraunces Tavern. But even with the help of Sam Fraunces and her fellow worker, Horace, Willy knows that to be black, female, and free leaves her open to danger at every turn. What will tomorrow bring?




RUNNING TIME ➥ 3hrs. and 45mins.

©1983 Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier (P)2012 AudioGO

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, American Revolutionary War, Middle Grade, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published February 1, 1983

About the author

James Lincoln Collier (born June 27, 1928) is a journalist, author, and professional musician.

Collier's notable literary works include My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), a Newbery Honor book that was also named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. He also wrote a children's book titled The Empty Mirror (2004), The Teddy Bear Habit (1967), about an insecure boy whose beatnik guitar teacher turns out to be a crook, and Rich and Famous (1975), sequel to The Teddy Bear Habit. His list of children's books also includes Chipper (2001), about a young boy in a gang. His writings for adults include numerous books on jazz, including biographies of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. He has also contributed entries on jazz-related subjects to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

In addition to his writing, Collier is an accomplished jazz musician who plays the trombone professionally.

Reviews

[Nyree McCollum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you like books about slavery, being a 14 year old girl and having a kidnapped mom and have to go 2 or 3 years without see her, and having to deal with a slave owner trying to put you back in slavery and him being your slave master? Do you? Well let me introduce this chiller book, " War Comes to Willy Freeman" to you. To me, this book was very well brutal, a little overated, and dejected ,but overall this book was prime.

This books takes place in the 1700's around the Revolutionary War and in New York. It's importance to the story is how she survived on her own throughout the cold winters, found a place to rest, food, and water while her mother was gone(although Mr. Fraunces took care of her when she was working at the tavern). Willy wanted her mother back, but the British didn't decide if they were going to release the kidnapped when the war is over or keep them and turn them into slaves. So, when we won the victory they decided to realease them. Then, she found her mother back at Captain malignant, women-beater, and inconsiderate Ivers sick and looking to die. Her dad died in a war when she was there with him and when she went back to the tavern she was gone. So a neighbor told her what happened, that the British kidnapped her and told her to get her things and come stay with her. This type of Conflict is person vs. person because she she's trying to fight Captain Ivers about slavery and her mother dying all because he didn't want a doctor there in his house.

I think it was very inconsiderate of captain Ivers to let her mother die like that. For example, in the text it states," Uncle Jack shook his head.(and stated)"Captain Ivers don't want no doctoring for her. He says it's a waste of money." I was very outrage at the fact, wait. First of all, how can be so cruel that you can just sit there and let a person die and not even try to help? Second of all, he was being a cheap skate because he has a lot of money talking about it's a waste of money it won't make a difference because he'll make twice the money tomorrow than it will cost to pay for a doctor. Why did he get mad when she smack and scratch him she had a right you just let her mother die I would have did worse? How would he feel if somebody let his mother die? Sometimes we as people have to put ourselves in other people shoes and think about what they're thinking about.

I thought that the ending was a very good part of the book because she won her case on Captain Ivers with the lawyer Mr. Goodrich. He couldn't put her back into slavery and he couldn't put her uncle Jack in jail for hitting him when Captain Ivers hit Willy because she hit Captain Ivers. Although, if I were the author I would have put in the book that she sued him for her Aunt, Cousin Dan, and Uncle Jack's freedom and sued for money. In the book it says,"I have my freedom papers right her sir. I pulled them out and gave it him. He read the and said, she's right, you can't put her back into slavery." So, she free and living with Mr. Fraunces and Horace (her crush).

On a scale from a scale 1-5 I rate this book three because it got boring at some parts and the only way I will rate a book 5 is it has to be on the adroitness and never get boring stay on top at all times. I would recommend this book to My Social Studies teacher Mr.Barth because it's a social studies book and I pretty sure she read it, but just in case she didn't read it yet I recommend this book to her. So, ii hope that you learned that your not the only one that went through the things that Willy went through being a 14 year old girl and having a kidnapped mom and have to go 2 or 3 years without see her, almost having to deal with slavery, and having to deal with a slave owner trying to put you back in slavery and him being your slave master. NEVER BE CHEAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Julie Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Willy's father dies, she decides she needs to go look for her mother. With options being very limited for a teenage black girl during the slavery era--even in the free states--Willy chooses to dress as a boy and work in a tavern while researching her mother. But she is being pursued by a man who believes slaves should never be free. . . .

The book is fairly well told and the ideas are compelling. The actual storytelling style is a little overly declarative, frequently--we hear about what Willy is doing without staying connected to how she feels about it, so sometimes there's a feeling of just observing what's going on rather than being involved in it. It does a good job highlighting the terrible oppression experienced by someone who lives at the intersection of three rights-limited identities--black, female, and below the age of majority. I was not all that convinced by the fanatical pursuer going after Willy himself.

[Summer Cosgrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this as a Literature Circle book during my Revolutionary War unit. The other 2 books used in class were My Brother Sam is Dead and Johnny Tremain. The story is of a young girl (who can pass as a boy - hence Willy) whose father is killed by the British. Her mother is taken away by the British and suddenly Willy is left alone. She travels to Connecticut to see her aunt and uncle and then goes to New York City to find her mother, who she thinks may be on a British prison ship. Willy gets a job at the now historic Fraunces Tavern in Lower Manhattan (open for school trips). The book was quite good and brings in a lot of interesting issues, like Patriot spies in NYC versus the loyalists, the prison ships in NY Harbor and life as a free slave during the war. A few bad words. You should clarify at the beginning that New London is in Connecticut. A few kids were confused and thought she had traveled to England.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note to parents: this book is a toned-down version of what life might be like for a young lady who is black growing up in the 1790s as a free woman. It contains depictions of racial and gender inequalities prevalent at that time, including many uses of the n-word and inexplicit instances of sexual assault. That said people should read it for insight into history.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout your lifetime, you are going to be faced with unimaginable challenges, decisions, and many difficult situations. Imagine having these challenges and making unimaginable decisions to solve these challenges, now at your current age. Picture in your mind, being a scared, lonely, and outcast adolescent at the young age of 13 without any parents to guide you during tough situations. Imagine at first hand, watching your father get killed with your own two eyes. Unimaginable right? Well, it’s not for Willy Freeman. This is the pain and agony that Willy Freeman had to suffer and endure at young age of 13.

“War Comes To Willy Freeman” is a fictional novel written by James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. It is a novel that will engage you from start to finish. It tells of a 13 year old girl ,Willy Freeman, during the Revolutionary War. This novel can be disheartening to some, but also adventurous, and breathtaking. Willy Freeman was a young girl who witnessed the death of her father during the Revolutionary War in Connecticut. He was killed by the Redcoats. After witnessing her father’s death, and upon her return home, she found that the British had taken her mother captive, as a prisoner in New York City and now she is on a near death mission to find her mother. Willy, disguised as a boy, begins her long search for her mother and luckily finds a safe house at the famous Fraunces Tavern, during her search. But even with the help of Sam Fraunces and her fellow worker, Horace, Willy knows that on her quest, being a black, female, and a free slave, leaves her open to great danger at every turn.

This novel has many interesting, and somewhat accurate historical facts, and issues that took place during the Revolutionary War. For example, the role of the Patriot versus the Loyalists, the function of the prison ships in New York Harbor, and the rights of free slaves. It also addresses the relationship between master and slave, black and white, the rights of male versus the rights of females, and the utmost important, good versus evil. A very interesting section in this book explains how Captain Irvers, a slave master, refuses to have the doctor treat Willie’s mother because, he says, “It's a waste of money.” This is an example to show that the life of a slave during the Revolutionary War had no worth. Willy’s mother eventually dies because her illness was not treated. I most certainly enjoyed the end of the book because Willy won her case for freedom against Captain Ivers. He wanted to put her back into slavery, but he could not because she had her freedom papers, which are legal documents. She showed her freedom papers to her lawyer, and she stated to him, "I have my freedom papers right here sir.” Willy pulled the document out and gave it to the lawyer. He read them, and stated to the slave owner, “She's right, you can't put her back into slavery." This was one of the highlights in the book.

One a scale of 1-5, I rate this book a 3. The content of this book can be seen as brutal because it explains the horrible, oppressive treatment that the slaves endured during the time of the Revolutionary War; therefore, I do not recommend this book to people who are sensitive to this issue. In addition, I should also advise those who are sensitive to the use of racial slurs to be aware that this book uses the derogatory language and slurs that can be offensive, to describe slaves during this time period. This novel is well-written and engaging and depicts the era of the Revolutionary War through the eyes of a young black girl. This novel is also rather sad, and left me in the state of disheartening feelings. I would recommend this book to those who really want to know what life was like as a 13 year old slave during the Revolutionary War, and to those who have a great interest in the Revolutionary War and its effects on a black adolescent during that time.

Overall, this book was a great adventure, even though most of the time Willy's life was hard. The ending was the absolute best part and I'm glad I finally read a book with a good ending. This book is a great adventure story and I recommend it to anyone who likes books that are adventurous, dramatic, and compelling.

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

War Comes to Willy Freeman by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Coller is a book that tries hard to entice the reader with moments of suspense and despair, but majorly fails. In this book, a young eleven-year-old girl named Willy Freeman living in the American Revolutionary War has to search for her mother who was kidnapped by the British. Willy daringly braves the journey from her home to New York City in search of her mother. One of the themes of this novel is perseverance. The authors effectively use Willy as a mechanism to demonstrate how valuable perseverance is. Although, this is one of the few things the authors get right.
The novel starts out with the main character Willy’s unique personality and traits being established. As a girl with some masculin characteristics, people often mistake her for a boy. This proves to be a crucial plot point in the story, and it is made clear that this affects Willy early in the story. During a battle between the British and the American Rebels, a couple of British soldiers come up and start harassing Willy and ask “ ‘are you a boy or a girl?’ ” (Collier and Coller 12). What starts off as a detriment to Willy is proven useful later. For example, later in the book Willy pretends to be boy to get into restricted areas that girls were not allowed into at the time. This is one of the few things the book does right, as it stumbles in may other places. Too many times things go right for Willy. Evidently, this makes it hard for the reader to stay enticed by the book. For example, when Willy arrives at New York (the place where she suspects her mother is) she has absolutely no trouble finding a place to stay. She ends up staying at a man named Black Sam Fraunces tavern. Here, she has no trouble getting in as he says “ ‘Well, I guess you’ve had enough trouble for a while, Willy. We’ll manage to put you up for a bit, until you can get settled’ ” (Collier and Coller 89-90). If Willy never found a place to sleep, the book could have been far more interesting. This is one of the many examples of good things happening for Willy a little too easily. Anyone that reads this book must have a strong endurance to long-stretches of monotony and boredom.
It’s clear that the authors of War Comes to Willy tried to put together a book that tugs at the reader’s heart and creates drama, but they fail at these things. Partially because of the unsatisfactory conclusion at the end of the book and the aforementioned lack of tension in the reading. Though this book excels in categories such as conveying its strong theme, but it flops in more categories than it does well in. If someone wants a short book that thoroughly entertains them, they should find something else.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The British and the war have come to New London and Willy and her family get caught in the middle of it. First Willy's Pa dies in battle and she's there to see it, having got caught at the fort while dressed as a boy. Afterwards, she learns that the British carried her Ma away to New York, so, still dressed as a boy, she sets off to find her. First, she stops to see her Aunt Betsey and Uncle Jack Arabus. While there, she comes to the notice of Captain Ivers who recognizes that, although she claims to be free, she has no proof and he can find a way to force her back into slavery. So Willy gets out of there real quick and once in New York, sets up with Sam Fraunces, the tavern owner and Horace, a servant. She's desperate to find her mother, but will she ever be able to?

I absolutely appreciate that this story is told from the perspective of an under-represented group in history - female African-Americans. Because Willy is black and she's a girl, we see not only the struggle of the Revolutionary War and the destruction that war brings, but the racism and the sexism inherent at the time. Granted, this is written by white men, it's at least an attempt to give voice and to recognize that these power imbalances existed. There are plenty of instances where Willy realizes that the blacks were damned if they did and damned if they didn't in this war and that women were in an even worse position (especially black women). And yet Willy doesn't come across as a victim of oppression - she's a dynamic character with agency, smarts and plenty of allies. She clearly makes the best of an awful situation...and it is awful. This has action and death and fighting (and some somewhat mature themes as Willy is sometimes on the receiving end of some inappropriate touches to see if she's a girl). As a social studies teacher, I appreciate all of these things. As a reader, I felt like this kinda went slow at times and I lost my interest in the in between times, while Willy was travelling or just passing time at the tavern waiting.

[Betty Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

War you comes to free man is a suspenseful historical novel .Talks about Young girl who’s name is Willy . Willie disguises herself as a boy . Willies father gets killed right in front of her and her mother gets taken away because the British . Will he cannot accept the fact that her mother was gone so she goes on a journey with it dads jolly boat .when Willy goes to visit her aunt Betsy she is almost out back to slavery so she decides to run away for her safety and freedom. Willy gets Newyork finnaky and meets her new brother Horance who works for Mr.florances . Willy thinks she found her mine in canvers hi that was a lie. One day she gets a letter her mom was found . So Willy goes back to Connecticut and find her mom very ill.wily isn’t happen her mom ends up dying. I learned that dont tak people for granted and spend time with your loved ones because you are not sure that you will ever see them again

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick listen. I found out about this book while looking at banned or challenged books and surprisingly it was on the list. From the Wikipedia page, it was because the word slut and n*gg** is used. The author talked about how historically accurate it is. I never really knew about all the black men fighting alongside the British or the Americans during the Revolutionary War. I guess the history books decided to leave that out. There was tragedy after tragedy happened to Whilemina(Willy) Freeman. I won't deny that this couldn't be a true story because I found out parts of this story were taken from historical evidence.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this after my daughter picked it as part of her school work on the American revolutionary period. I felt this was quite well done for exploring the experience of a black woman in america during slavery. it also revealed the false promises by the revolution and freedom for enslaved conscripts / volunteers. I did feel the themes were a bit advanced for my daughters age, but nevertheless important

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this out loud to the children. One of the more action packed books we've read lately! At times the suspense was pretty great and they didn't want to stop reading! Gives a good picture of what went on during war times and what colored people faced. A bit gruesome during the one small fight but I'm sure that's just how it was.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read, and it was a good one. I had forgotten how much depth this story has for a children's book. I like that much of it is based on real-life characters. Adventurous and lots of different types. It was an interesting setting, and the people felt real and had depth. I can see why I read it as a kid for school, and think it is worthy for adults as well.

[Lilzzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was assigned to me for school so as it goes with school books, i had a hard time finishing it. I did like the idea of her hiding her gender and convincing people that he really was a boy. Those type of books are always my favorite.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read take on American Revolution from the perspective a young Black girl. A must read for all ages.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a possibility for my 8th graders. Skip it.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book this book wasn't just a great storie it showed what it was like to be african american women and how she dealt with her parents dieing.

[Delia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for school it was alright but not something I would pick up myself. It was just not my kind of book.

[Ike Standifird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible version Loved it

[Kazeem Olalekan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[P.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that slavery is becoming a key issue in the current political season, I think everyone should read this book. Why we are still debating whether slavery was bad or not is beyond me.

[P.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that slavery is becoming a key issue in the current political season, I think everyone should read this book. Why we are still debating whether slavery was bad or not is beyond me.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Writing Art Book Review)

Almost all of the books in world have many different kinds of events in the books. The events in the books are mainly divided by two sections, positive and negative events. The one of the books that contains the one of the negative events is “War Comes to Willy Freeman” The reason why I am saying this is that you might not want to imagine that you were in middle of the war between America and Britain, and your mom was taken away by British and your father got killed during the battle. But that’s what the main character of “War Comes to Willy Freeman” experienced. Some books have very positive events to the characters; therefore, some books do not have positive events and have negative events instead and one of them is this book. Uncomfortable, you feel the bad events happening to the main characters in the book. So you also probably not want to imagine being the main character of “War Comes to Willy Freeman”, but on the other hand, you might want to listen and think it as your own thing. This book will show about how the main character’s determined spirit accomplishes her trial during the American Revolutionary war, 1775.
The main character, Wilhelmina Freeman (people call her Willy), a teenage girl but disguised as a boy, loses her father by the war. British soldiers took her mom away to another place. Willy Freeman’s life had changed forever by her father, Jordan Freeman. Willy and her family members were slaves but after her father made the regretful decision to he sign up for the war to fight for America, so their owner gave them freedom. Jordan Freeman, Willy’s father sacrificed himself to get his family out of the slavery by taking extreme risks, and dies as the result. Betsy Freeman, Willy’s mother, was taken away by the British as a prisoner.
All of these bad events brought Willy Freeman a lot of themes such as hardship, loneliness and anger. This seems really hard for a teenager girl to conquer this situation. But Willy did not give up on herself even when she was left alone. She did not give up; by begin to make a journey to search for her mother. This shows that she is trying to accomplish her problem with her hard spirit that ready to take risk just like what her father did.
Few years later, when she finally achieved her goal after her tough journey, she recognized that all of her hard work she had done and her hopes have crumbled to nothing. The reason is that her major goal was to find her mother, she heard that her mom died because of her new master’s unfair behavior. But Willy, stood against the master who actually killed her mother to show the truth, so she can get him arrested. Her Uncle’s friend, a lawyer, helped Willy so she could have succeeded.
Although, the ending was not what the main character expected to be, you might realize that, that is not the whole point of this book. So the actual point of this book was that do not give up easily even if you get a hard problem or trouble and try to conquer the goal. This means that try to use the theme of hardship and determined mind which are the main themes in this book. So this book taught me that if I never give up something easily, then I can win another thing that is more important than what I actually want.

[Xiaojuanwu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine you were in American Revolutionary war time, your mom was taken away by British and your father was killed fighting in the war, what would you do now? That was exactly what happened to Willy Freeman in this book. It was uneasy to disguise she was a girl. However, She was a brave and determined girl. As the war happened, she became alone after she came home helping her dad fighting the war and discovered her mother was disappeared. She was scared and confused not knowing what to do, but she was mature that she knew she had to survive and look for her mom. She sailed alone on the sea that her father had a boat left on the beach to New York finding her mother. She wasn't scared even she had caught by the raiders or British during her journey. She was daring that she lied she was a boy in order to escape away to look for her mother. In additon, she was thoughtful that she went to ask for help from her aunt and uncle, which they were slaves of Captain Ivers. Willy had thought about to stay with her aunt and uncle but they couldn't keep her and Willy didn't want to give up searching her mother either. She decided to continue searching her mother no matter what. She didn't care even it was hopeless to find her mother. She was very positive to herslef that her mother was alive. When she got to New York, she met a friendly man Sam Fraunces. He had helped her to get information about her mother. He let Willy work for him in a tavern to earn some money for herslef. Unfortunately, Willy was unfortunate after she found her mother but full of happiness that all slaves were freed.

In this book, the character Willy had inspired me. She was a girl who survived from the dangers that she had been through. If I were her, I wouldn't think like her to look for survival for myself. From this book, I learned a lesson from Willy Freeman. Whenever we encounter an obstacle, we need to be brave and persiistent face it until it ends. The further we go through the situation, the more we will feel relived. If we are afraid to face and never want to solve the problem, we are stacking the difficulties more and more every day. They will bother us and make us overwhelmed.

At last, I would highly recommend this book who is interested in reading historical books because that is the genre of this book or people who never know anything about American Revolutionary War. After I read this book, I actually had a better view of how struggle people were during the war and how the society was shaped in such choatic. It's hard to live in a society that is having a war and seeing the people
die or land is colored of blood. When I read this book, I could see how these slave were treated in the past. I feel I'm lucky living in this century. I feel appraciated of everything this world has giving me.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the British try to take Fort Griswold near Wilhemina Freeman's Connecticut home, her father, Jordan Freeman, goes to the fort to help. Willy rides along so she can bring the horse home. Unfortunately, Willy meets some British soldiers on her return trip. Thinking she's a spy, they start shooting at her. Willy gallops the horse back towards the fort. The horse is hit, and Willy's father pulls Willy over the fort wall to safety. In the ensuing battle, Jordan Freeman dies, and the fort falls to the British. Willy returns home to find that the British have taken her mother. With nowhere else to go, Willy travels to her mother's sister in Stratford, Connecticut. Betsy's master, Captain Ivers, claims Willy as his slave so she runs away. (Jordan and his family were freed when Jordan enlisted in the Revolutionary Army. Willy left the freedom papers back in their cabin and couldn't disprove Captain Ivers' claim.) For the next two years, Willy lives at Sam Fraunces' tavern in New York. Then, Willy hears that her dying mother is with Aunt Betsy. She arrives at Captain Ivers’ house just before her mother dies. Angry that the Captain denied her mother the medical treatment that might have helped her, Willy attacks him. This reckless act puts Willy in danger, again. Then, Jack Arabus, Betsy's husband, intervenes, and, suddenly, Jack and Willy are in serious trouble. Willy hopes that Mr. Goodrich, a white lawyer and Sam Fraunces' friend, can help.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Michie Jaay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love history and was excited to read this book and it delivered! I cried, learned, worried, and smiled throughout this book on the tough tough journey with Willy. It got a little rough reading some of the vocabulary, but understand the writing is as closely as (they hope) to the way the vocabulary was of that time was.

Favorite quote/s:
• “Aunt Betsy put her arms around me and held me like a baby. I wished I was a baby, too, and had somebody to look after me and didn’t know about all the terrible things that had happened.”
• “But thinking about being free wasn’t getting me free.”

That’s all, thank you.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

gr 5-8 178 pgs

American Revolution, Connecticut & NYC. 13 year old Wilhelma "Willy" Freeman lives with her parents, who are freed slaves. When the British come, Willy's father dies defending the fort near their home and her mother is taken prisoner. Willy makes her way to her aunt, who is a slave, but is forced to leave when the slave owner tries to claim Willy as his slave. She makes her way to NYC and works in Fraunces Tavern and continues to search for her mother. At the end of the war, Willy becomes part of the battle over the rights of freed slaves who fought in the war. Her uncle, along with other slaves, was freed to fight for the Patriots. Now his former owner is claiming he is still a slave. Willy must decide whether or not to risk her own freedom to help her uncle.

***Characters use a variety of derogatory terms that the author chose to include because that was how people spoke at the time.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really is a tragedy having to lived in war times.
If the setting of this book were different, it would change the whole story. Without a war (the Revolutionary War), there wouldn't be so much physical suffering. Willy Freeman wouldn’t be an orphan and face problems as a black girl. There’d be laws that protect her from the racial and gender injustice she face. Willy wouldn’t be boss around by others and have to pretend she’s a boy. People would respect her more. And there wouldn’t be British soldiers colonizing everything. I admire her courageousness and determination to survive and find her mother. If I were Willy, I would’ve wait for death to come. It’s really sad when her mother dies and they had to buried her. But I guess everything turned out okay it the end. The judge supported Willy and his uncle and they became free.

[Swankivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helps children understand the role minority-race Americans have played through our history, and also tackles the sex issue--Willy is a girl who disguises herself as a boy to stop herself from being victimized by a society that drafts black women decidedly on the bottom of the totem pole. She has to deal with losing her daddy in the war and then becoming an adult who provides for herself, all while keeping the secret of her being female from those who know her. It's well-written and engaging.

[Sania Gibson · Rating 1 out of 5]

i switvh my book out because i didnt even like it i got to page ten and didnt want to read it so

[Maren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a box of young adult literature from different library sales. Slowly I'm going through it to see what it worth holding onto and what I should get rid of. There are a few that I have started and immediately threw away. I'll hold on to this one. It's entertaining enough as a historical fiction.
I've got a strange assortment. So I'll start the reviews with From the Box if that's where they came from.