Reed, Stephanie. Across the wide river.REED, Stephanie. Across the wide river. Kregel. 176p. c2004.0-8254-3576-5. $7.99. J Based on a real family that once lived in historic Ripley, Ohio Ripley is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States, 50 miles southeast of Cincinnati, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,745 at the 2000 census. History , this book follows the life of Lowry Rankin, the first child of a large family devoted to the abolitionist cause. In an effort to distance themselves from slavery in Tennessee, Lowry's parents headed for Ohio but settled in Kentucky for a number of years. When the novel begins, Lowry's innocence is fractured when he watches his friend, who is described as a happy slave, brutally beaten after attending Bible school. Soon after, the family moves to Ohio. This incident stays with Lowry until he meets the slave again and helps him board the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad, in U.S. history, loosely organized system for helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada or to areas of safety in free states. It was run by local groups of Northern abolitionists, both white and free blacks. . At school, Lowry is teased tease v. teased, teas·ing, teas·es v.tr. 1. To annoy or pester; vex. 2. To make fun of; mock playfully. 3. because of his Kentucky accent. While the teasing teasing the act of parading a male before a female to see if she displays estrus, and is therefore in a state where mating is likely to be fertile. leads to a fight that allows Lowry to meet his future love interest, it also distorts his self-image. Throughout the novel, he lacks confidence and is convinced he is incapable of becoming an abolitionist minister. Though the book is interesting, it might have been a more exciting read had the author focused more on the challenges and risks that must have plagued a family so dedicated to the abolitionist cause. For example, each of the children was told at an early age about what Reed dubs "the family business." This must have presented some problems. How did they manage to keep their participation in the Underground Railroad a secret? The tension that Reed does portray por·tray tr.v. por·trayed, por·tray·ing, por·trays 1. To depict or represent pictorially; make a picture of. 2. To depict or describe in words. 3. To represent dramatically, as on the stage. quite well, however, comes in two forms: through Lowry's reluctance to doing abolitionist work and through the conflict between slave owners This list includes notable individuals for which there is a consensus of evidence of slave ownership. A
J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescent and their teachers. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion