Road to Freedom

I wanted to preview Roddy's books on the Civil War and chose this one first. I enjoyed the victories after families had been torn apart by different loyalties and how they came to grips with them. This particular book deals with a widower trying to cope with a farm alone - and her young son, Gideon. It chronicles the divided home of the wealthy cousin of Emily Lodge. She postpones her own move to safety and happiness to help the slave owner-cousin even though she opposes his beliefs. In this capacity, she is allowed to teach illiterate children to read. Slaves escape, soldiers are wounded and running. Families are split up while others try to stay emotionally together while physically apart. Faith in God and love of family are tested because of the opposite beliefs of both sides of the war. There is a lot of sadness, suspense and danger involved in the story telling and I believe children age 10 - 12 would get a pretty clear and acurate picture of family life during the Civil War. It causes the reader to want to read the entire series.