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Overview
A powerful debut novel of friendship, love, and family set in the segregated pre-Civil War South.
"This is a promise bridge, and it bridges a promise flowing from your heart to mine. It can't never be broken...the promise is part of you now, understand."
Thus begins an unlikely friendship between Hannelore Blessing, a plantation mistress, and a slave girl named Livie. As the young women are launched on a harrowing journey of awakening filled with shared risks and nurtured promises amid whispers of the Underground Railroad and the rising tension preceding the Civil War, they discover their ability to trust, love, and ultimately take action.
Aided by Colt, a devoted suitor hoping to win her heart, Hannah comes to understand that true friendship means letting go, so that Livie can be free to find a life and destiny all her own. However, a vicious slave catcher stalks the two women-and his unseemly motives and relentless pursuit threaten all that Hannah holds dear, as well as put her loved ones in unimaginable danger.
Synopsis
A powerful debut novel of friendship, love, and family set in the segregated pre-Civil War South.
"This is a promise bridge, and it bridges a promise flowing from your heart to mine. It can't never be broken...the promise is part of you now, understand."
Thus begins an unlikely friendship between Hannelore Blessing, a plantation mistress, and a slave girl named Livie. As the young women are launched on a harrowing journey of awakening filled with shared risks and nurtured promises amid whispers of the Underground Railroad and the rising tension preceding the Civil War, they discover their ability to trust, love, and ultimately take action.
Aided by Colt, a devoted suitor hoping to win her heart, Hannah comes to understand that true friendship means letting go, so that Livie can be free to find a life and destiny all her own. However, a vicious slave catcher stalks the two women-and his unseemly motives and relentless pursuit threaten all that Hannah holds dear, as well as put her loved ones in unimaginable danger.
Publishers Weekly
Schwab's promising debut puts an uncommon spin on a runaway slave story. Hannah Blessing has had a privileged upbringing at Hillcrest, her aunt's Virginia plantation where slavery has been a fact of life she never gave much thought to--until Hannah and best friend-turned-potential suitor Colt encounter a group of runaway slaves in the woods. Among them is Livie, a wounded girl about Hannah's age. When Livie's unable to continue traveling, Hannah and Colt integrate her into Hillcrest's slave population, and soon she's Hannah's personal servant, and Hannah begins to understand the horrors of slavery. After some time, Hannah and Colt, with the help of some unlikely allies, send Livie north, but the overseer at the neighboring plantation has different plans-- and a hidden personal stake in the matter. Though the dialogue ranges from florid to cheesy ("I never knowed a white heart and a colored heart could beat together in friendship"), readers who are won over by the strength of Hannah and Livie and can wait through a slow start will be rewarded by some surprising twists and an eventually riveting narrative. (July)