Freedom Crossing

Although she lives in the North, Laura Eastman's ties to the South and what it stands for are strong. And she is firm in her conviction that the Southern states have the right to maintain their own laws and beliefs, even those concerning slavery. But Laura will soon find out that she is alone in that belief in her very own family. After a lengthy stay with a beloved aunt in Virginia, she quickly discovers that her own home in western New York is a stop on the hated Underground Railroad. Worse, her own brother, Bert, and a childhood friend, have become conductors, helping slaves escape into Canada.

Even so, she will not waver from her belief that anyone helping a fugitive slave is breaking the law. When a friend brings a runaway slave, Martin Paige, to the house while her father and stepmother are away, Laura must decide what she believes — and whether she should help 12-year-old Martin escape. Martin would rather die than be sent back to the South and into bondage. Tension and intrigue illuminate the dim passages and secret hiding places throughout Margaret Goff Clark's page-turner. Themes of home, family, and friendship are woven with a story of courage and suspicion.