Susanna desperately wants to join the circle of girls who meet every week at the parsonage. What she doesn't realize is that the leader of the group, the malicious Ann Putnam, is about to set off a torrent of false accusations leading to the imprisonment and execution of countless innocent people. When Susanna puts the pieces together, she faces a painful choice. She can keep quiet and let the witch-hunt panic continue, or she can "break charity" with the group-and risk having her family named as witches.
"Rich with details...A Break with Charity portrays an excruciating era in American history from a unique perspective, and it will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy psychology, the supernatural, and history." -School Library Journal
Fourteen-year-old Rachel Marsh is nanny to John and Abigail Adams' children and witnesses firsthand how tension builds in the feisty New England town in the two years before it erupts into the Boston Massacre. Friends become foes and families divide as British troops arrive in 1768 to force the outspoken Bostonians to toe the line and obey the British government. But the idea of liberty and self-government has taken hold, and once considered, cannot now be set aside. At the same time, Rachel begins to take stock of her own life and future, and learns that to live life to its fullest and with integrity, one must seek the truth for oneself and take a stand. Ann Rinaldi, a master at making history come alive, creates an exciting front row seat for the listener as she uses the voice of young Rachel Marsh to underscore that American liberty was not easily won, but at great cost to those who would not let their dreams die. Recommended for Grades 6 and up.
Claire Louise Corbet has never had trouble making up her mind. She knows what she wants and how to get it. But when the Yankee soldiers shell their town, she begins to discover that decisions are not always black and white, and they are anything but easy. For forty-seven days, the Union army lays siege to the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, forcing Claire Louise and her family to flee their home to live in the safety of a nearby cave. When her beloved brother Landon, a doctor in the Union army, shows up one day with a wounded Confederate soldier named Robert, Claire Louise knows there’s more to the story than she is being told. Eventually she learns that Robert is responsible for allowing an order from Robert E. Lee to fall into Union hands, causing the South to lose the Battle of Antietam. As a captain in the army, Landon is honor-bound to turn Robert over to authorities. But if he does, Robert will most assuredly be tried for treason. This knowledge weighs heavily on Claire Louise as she takes it upon herself to make a difficult choice between family and friend . . . and live with the consequences of her decision.
Historical fiction writer Ann Rinaldi has received the ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Brooklyn Rose is loosely based on the life of her own grandmother. Rose Frampton is content with life on her family's plantation in South Carolina, but the year 1900 brings many changes for the 15 year-old. She could never imagine that she would marry a Yankee and become the mistress of a New York City estate. Uprooted from the tranquil shores of Saint Helena's Island, she comes to know and love Rene, learns to make her own decisions, and finds an untapped inner strength.
Though 13-year-old Mary is happy to keep quiet about the secret instruction she receives at Miss Prudence Crandall's private school for the daughters of the richest families in New England, Mary's sister Sarah glories in the fuss she creates when she is openly admitted. When Miss Prudence replaces the school's white students with little misses of color, all sides of the anti-slavery movement want to use the school to further their own agendas-with Mary and Sarah caught in the middle!
