The Other Side of Free

by Krista Russell

Overview

Jem has escaped from slavery. Now it's up to him to decide what he believes, who he trusts, and what freedom really means.

In 1739, England and Spain are on the verge of war and former slaves are arriving at Fort Mose in St. Augustine, where the Spanish will give them their freedom in exchange for their loyalty. Fourteen-year-old Jem has escaped a cruel master but is now in the custody of Phaedra, a difficult and angry woman. He thought he was free, he thought he was a man, but Phaedra takes every opportunity to remind him that he's still a child. As the threat of war becomes more real, Jem starts to understand the meaning of freedom.

Krista Russell's action-packed historical adventure, provides readers with a chance learn, along with Jem, the complex connections that make a community and the significance of true freedom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682634097
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	01/10/2023
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,050,156
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Krista Russell is a graduate of Agnes Scott College, The London School of Economics, and Seton Hill University's Writing Popular fiction program. A Massachusetts native, she now lives in Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

"A moving portrayal of a young teen yearning for a chance to be a hero."—Booklist

"Readers will be immersed in the suspenseful intrigue and Jem's battle for freedom."—School Library Journal

"Russell illuminates a little-known piece of American history in this well-researched novel for middle-grade readers. . . The unfamiliar but engrossing topic and fast-paced action will keep readers interested. . . a welcome and well-written work of history."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

01/01/2014
Gr 4–6—A stern, exacting woman named Phaedra fosters 13-year-old Jem in Fort Mose, a Spanish enclave for escaped slaves in 18th- century Florida. In exchange for the protection of the Spanish government, the adult inhabitants of Fort Mose pledge to abandon traditional modes of belief and convert to Catholicism. The men must also join a militia to defend the neighboring settlement against the English. Their military commitment takes on terrifying import following the 1739 Stono slave rebellion. Exasperatingly positioned between childhood and maturity, Jem aches to evade Phaedra's belittling supervision and take up arms, but he fails to prove his intelligence and trustworthiness to the community leaders. Russell layers period and cultural details with a historian's enthusiasm, populating the story with Native American communities, Spanish colonists, Fort Mose refugees, and a French trader. Mining such rich and little-known material offers inherent value to library shelves and school curricula but Russell possibly attempts to pack too much into one book, including several minor mysteries and Jem's devoted rearing of a injured owlet. Though the characterization of Jem wobbles according to the dictates of subplots, the secondary figures retain more solidity; Phaedra in particular evinces an acerbic charm. When the British lay siege to the Spanish holdings, Russell successfully elevates the tension and sheds light on this fascinating moment in history. Readers will be immersed in the suspenseful intrigue and Jem's battle for freedom.—Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal

2013-09-15
Russell illuminates a little-known piece of American history in this well-researched novel for middle-grade readers. When Aunt Winnie--not a blood relation but the only family Jem has ever known--sends him away from Charles Town with a strange conjure-woman named Phaedra, the 13-year-old is confused and resentful. It's 1739; Florida is held by England's sworn enemy Spain. The Spanish governor at St. Augustine offers freedom, support and baptism into the Catholic faith to any escaped slave who vows to fight the English, but Phaedra insists Jem is too young to join the militia or take a vow. Instead, he spends his days running errands for Phaedra in the forests and marshlands around Fort Mose, an earthwork fort built and staffed by the ex-slave militia, wishing for more manly duties. Recent escapees bring news of a violent slave rebellion along the Stono River; the English blame the Spanish and declare war. The unfamiliar but engrossing topic and fast-paced action will keep readers interested. Phaedra and other members of the colony are well-drawn, but Jem's characterization wobbles; his resentment, coming as it does after his rescue from near-certain death at the hands of his master, seems ill-placed. Still, a welcome and well-written work of history. (Historical fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews