Freedom of the Soul

Tracey Bateman's second installment in the Penbrook Diary Series is reminiscent of the classics--think To Kill A Mockingbird situated at Scarlet's Tara. Multiple generations battle the war of the races. Parallel injustices occur a century apart. In The Color of the Soul, Bateman deals with a reporter who uncovers a colorful family history in Miss Penbrook's diary. In The Freedom of the Soul, Bateman shows the cost of freedom. Shea Penbrook discovers her white trash reputation is undeserved when she finds her great great grandfather's diaries. But as she reads his story, so much more is revealed. Great great grandmother Celeste is a one-quarter black slave, nursing Mac, the son of the master. As the story unfolds in the diary, Shea's own life takes a similar course. Shea is inspired to fight for what is rightfully hers in Oregon as well as the plantation in Georgia. Enter Jonas Riley, the cocky son of the current heir of Penbrook Mansion. Shea tries to convince herself to remain void of emotion when it comes to Jonas, but sparks fly in both directions. Be sure to pick up this colorful read for a taste of what entire generations have endured. I read this book first, and will certainly go back to read book one in this series of The Penbrook Diaries.

In 1949 Oregon Shea Penbrook feels all alone as she buries her Granddad; her fiancé died during the war in the Pacific and her dad not long afterward. At the funeral with her are the preacher she paid and the family helper who asks for his wages. Even before she can get home, her avariciou neighbor Jackson Sable demands she sell the place to him, which she is forced to do by an unfair legal ruling. Going inside her shack, she packs her possessions, but in the attic she finds the diaries of an ancestor who makes her believe she has some African American blood inside her. Lonely she decides to go to Oak Junction, Georgia to find her other roots. Shea is shocked when she sees how blacks are treated as inhuman, but finds solace in the diaries that focus on the love between Mac the offspring of a wealthy white slave owner and Celeste one of their slaves. She wonders who Mac will marry, a white neighbor who condones his having a discrete tryst or the slave who captures his heart though she sort of knows the answer already. Meanwhile she meets Chicago based Jonas Riley who does not trust Shea, but has no choice except to invite the enemy into his home and more. The sequel to THE COLOR OF THE SOUL, THE FREEDOM OF THE SOUL, is a fabulous historical thriller that brings to life two eras, the Deep South just after WWII and the Antebellum mid ninetieth century South prior to the Civil War. The prime story line focuses on Shea's need to belong to someone and somewhere, but also uses the diaries to tell the story of Mac and Celeste. Readers will appreciate this character driven look at racial relationships while rooting for the best to happen to the deserving Shea. Harriet Klausner

After her grandfather's death Shae Penbrook is alone. Although she can't bear the thought of selling her family farm to Jackson Sable, a man who has hated the Penbrooks for years, Shae has no choice. She has no money, and no one to care what happens to her. In clearing out the house she finds the Penbrook diaries. What she reads there sends her on a mission to learn more about the family secret. Jonas Riley has come to Georgia and finds his friend, Andy, who is black was attacked by the Klan and left to die. Shae Penbrook found him and saved his life. Jonas is attracted to Shae, but he suspects she isn't exactly truthful about her reasons for being in Oak Junction. Jonas is in danger from the Klan too. Georgia, in 1949, isn't a good place to be if you are black. It isn't a good place for Yankees either, especially if they're from a northern newspaper covering a trial of white men accused of killing a white man and a black woman. Will the killer walk free? Oak Junction, Georgia is a tinderbox and too many of the residents are willing to strike the match. A lot of innocent people will be hurt in the explosion. Both Shea and Jonas have secrets they are afraid to share. There is a growing attractiion between the two, but will that attraction be strong enough to survive the violence swirling around them? Tracey Bateman's Freedom of the Soul was developed from a bit of family history. From what little she knew about her ancestor she has written a thought provoking tale of a love that trancended racial bariers. She does a great job of blending characters from two areas in a suspenseful story that will grip the reader from the first sentence. Bateman is a good writer, and Freedom of the Soul is top of the line. I'm happy to recommend it.

The Freedom of the Soul is the stunning sequel to The Color of the Soul, and also the second book in the Penbrook Diaries series. The story was so compelling, and the times so excruciatingly well-portrayed, that I couldn't stop reading. Being a black person in the South--and Georgia in particular--in the 1940s was a terrifying experience. The Klan thrived and the warped sense of justice lived out by the legal systems in the south bred people who thought nothing of lynching others for having "mixed" relationships. That same system segregated everything from health care to education. This story moved me emotionally on several occasions. The romance was intense and the sense of adventure fantastic. Bateman ties together many loose ends in this novel, and she weaves new threads that are intriguing and well-thought-out. The Freedom of the Soul is similar to a thriller in the sense that you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. Just when you think the beloved characters are safe, the Klan shows up again. My nerves were taut as I waited for a horrible fate for the people I'd grown to care so much about. Delight filled my heart as the author found ways to extract the characters from the clutches of a sure death more than once. The faith element was also flawlessly incorporated into the storyline. Bateman has an uncanny ability to bring history to life. I adore her historical fiction and am hopelessly addicted. I highly recommend this page-turning novel and await the next book in the series with anticipation.

Reviewed by Stephanie Rollins for Reader Views (10/06) Tracey Bateman's "The Freedom of the Soul" starts out with Shea's father dying. She lives in a shack with him. She agrees to sell the property to an adjacent land-owner after her father's death. As she is packing the belongings in the attic, she finds diaries that belong to a relative of many generations ago. In these diaries, she finds information that leads her to believe that she is of African American heritage. This is quite alarming, since she lives in the 1940's, and she is already of a family with a questionable reputation. Shea leaves the shack and travels to the estate that she figures is hers if she is correct about being of the African American bloodline. She travels to Georgia where racial inequality is still intact. It amazes Shea, who is from the North, that blacks have different hospitals. It amazes Shea that a black man cannot even lay on a white man's cot. The way some of the slave owners treat the slaves is horrible. To make the slave owners understand the importance of treating the leased slaves well, they often have to be reminded that they should treat all leased possessions well. "'I've half a mind to spread the word to the rest of the county not to lease slaves to you if they value their property at all.'" As she discover's Georgia and the estate, she proceeds to read from the journals. It is there that she learns of the love between Mac, the son of a wealthy slave owner, and Celeste, a slave. Mac is in her bloodline. Will he marry the slave girl? Will he marry the wealthy white girl who loves him? His father will disinherit him if he marries the slave girl. He may be killed by the Klan if he makes his love for the slave girl known. The wealthy white girl has given him permission to have an affair with the slave girl even if he marries her. "You listen to me, Mac Penbrook. I mean to marry you. I am not opposed to your dalliance with this slave girl as long as you use discretion and do not claim any children born of the union." Will a clandestine sexual relationship with the slave girl be enough for him? The story is a quick, enjoyable read. Interesting facts about the old south are woven into the story. For a great romantic escape, "The Freedom of the Soul" is a great choice.