Told in alternating chapters by Mariah and Caleb is the story of past slavery and longing for full freedom, but first they must survive the upcoming showdown between Union and Confederate forces. Mariah dares to dream of a future, not alone – but what secret does Caleb hide? Why are some men in the Union Army if they think slavery is right? How can Mariah keep her simple little brother safe? Meeting Mariah and little Zeke strains his “no attachments” resolution (and the young man is secretly glad). Galloway says “You now own yourselves” and promises to keep them free on their journey – away from Miss Callie’s strident commands and slave-driver Nero’s brutal whip.Ĭaleb lived through the Burning of Atlanta and now forages for Sherman’s Army. My book talk: Freed by the Yankees, Mariah and her fellow enslaved persons travel along with the Union Army, but not all soldiers believe they should be free. Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Read it – for our shared humanness, as Mariah and Caleb fall in love, despite all.Įvery time I see Ebenezer in a church name, I will surely remember this story.īook info: Crossing Ebenezer Creek / Tonya Bolden.

Read it – for the sorrow that war brings. Mariah wants to believe that the brutalities of slavery are behind them, but even. When Mariah and her young brother Zeke are suddenly freed from slavery, they join Sherman's march through Georgia. Read this book – for the joy that freedom brings. On the march Mariah meets a young man named Caleb, and a new dream takes rootone of a future with a home of her own and a true love by her side. Award-winning author Tonya Bolden sheds light on an unknown moment of the Civil War to readers in a searing, poetic novel about the dream of freedom.

What does the future hold for former slaves?

Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Tonya Bolden