This book has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine.
Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman lives in Canada’s Buxton settlement, a refuge for freed slaves and their families. As the first free-born child, Elijah has heard about, but never experienced, slavery. He enjoys a peaceful life attending church and school under the guidance of wise, loving parents and kind community members. After school, he works alongside Mr. Leroy, a man saving to buy his wife and children out of slavery. Elijah’s parents consider the boy “fra-gile,” so he constantly struggles to prove himself and understand the “growned up” world.
A man who calls himself Right Reverend Deacon Doctor Zephariah Connerly the Third takes advantage of Elijah’s desire to appear grown up. He praises the boy’s precise rock chucking abilities and tells Elijah that Jesus has given him a gift he must use for the good of the community. He invites Elijah to sneak out with him one night to watch a traveling carnival. Zephariah makes Elijah demonstrate his chucking skills to the show’s owner and nearly sells the boy to the carnival.
When a neighbor, Mrs. Holton, gets a letter saying her husband was beaten to death, the town grieves with her. She gives Mr. Leroy all the money she had been saving to free her husband. Overwhelmed and excited, Mr. Leroy allows Zephariah to transport the large sum to someone who can retrieve his family. Zephariah steals the money, and a distraught Mr. Leroy asks Elijah to sneak off to America with him to find Zephariah.
Mr. Leroy dies on the way, making Elijah promise to avenge him. Elijah finds Zephariah hanged in a barn, killed by white slave traders. He also finds four slaves and a baby, naked and in chains. His first real experience with slavery jars him, and he’s devastated to realize he can’t save these people. The slave woman urges him to take her child to safety. As he crosses into Canada with the baby girl, he whispers the warm welcoming speech Pa always gives to newly-freed slaves.
Elijah and his family attend church and Sabbath school. Elijah lists chores he’d rather do than sit through church. White women in America write to tell Mrs. Holton her husband has gone to “the loving arms of our Savior.” The letter mentions God’s mercy, wisdom and providence and says the man received a Christian burial. Mr. Leroy says if God is just, like he knows He is, the “N” word will be buried with all the cruel white people who used it. People use phrases like “Lord have Mercy,” “What on God’s earth” and “Sweet Baby Jesus.” The community believes in God, so these exclamations are not said in mockery of God. Elijah says a girl in his class lets the sin of envy choke her heart.
Zephariah, a preacher without a church, proclaims he’s the smartest man around. He tricks Elijah out of some fish by convincing the boy to tithe. He praises Elijah’s stone-throwing accuracy, first saying the left-handed throwing looks like the work of the Devil and then deciding it is a gift from Jesus. Zephariah likens Elijah’s fishing skills to Jesus feeding the 5,000.
Elijah sometimes talks about spells or “conjures.” He calls the show folks at the carnival “conjurers.” A carnival actress says heathen magic has left her blind. At a fair, a conjurer convinces a boy to strip naked in front of a large crowd. The boy does this because he’s pretending to be hypnotized. When someone acts out, such as when Mr. Travis gets angry while at school, Elijah says it’s like he’s been taken over by Satan.
Ma and Pa, former slaves, are loving parents with a sense of humor. They offer Elijah wise principles for living. Both are concerned that Elijah is too “fra-gile” and try to instill an ability to be brave in him. Pa helps bring other slaves to freedom and ensures they enjoy a warm reception when they arrive in Buxton. Zephariah pretends to befriend Elijah whenever he wants something from the boy. He steals and gambles with Mr. Leroy’s money and shoots a man. Mr. Leroy slaps Elijah when the boy uses a racial slur. He lectures Elijah about the word’s legacy of hate. He later tells Elijah he can’t be timid about what he does but should approach situations expecting good to happen. Mr. Leroy is the first adult who treats Elijah as an adult. Mr. Travis often gets visibly frustrated, teaching the same kids for school and Sabbath school. He affirms Elijah’s efforts when the boy helps compose a memorial plaque for Mrs. Holton.
A slave trying to curse without saying the word spells out “d-a-m.” Several white people refer to black people as pickaninnies. Elijah starts to say the n-word, but Mr. Leroy angrily stops him before he can get it out.
A slave woman kisses Elijah and her baby on their heads. Elijah’s teacher writes, “Familiarity breeds contempt” on the classroom board. Elijah and his friend deduce its meaning as “family breeding contest” and are excited at the prospect of a sex education lesson. They are disappointed.
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Parents or teachers could use this book as a springboard for studying slavery and the Underground Railroad.
Lying/Deception: Elijah lies to his parents and others so he and Mr. Leroy can go looking for Zephariah. He sometimes sneaks out of the house at night to roam around the forest. Though his parents have forbidden him to go to a traveling show, he sneaks out and attends it with Zephariah. Elijah says once you start lying, it’s not hard to keep going.
Nudity: The slaves Elijah finds in America are naked. He averts his eyes.
Smoking: Some of the circus people smoke cigars.
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