The Letter Writer by Ann Rinaldi

Harriet Whitehead, 11, lives with her half-brother Richard, his wife Pleasant, their baby William, sister Margaret, and Mother Whitehead on a plantation in the South in 1831. Her best friend is Violet, who is her slave. Her brother is a Methodist minister and is very strict with her upbringing. Since Mother Whitehead is going blind, Harriet becomes her letter writer. She begins correspondence with her Uncle Arthur in England and writes all of Mother Whitehead's letters about the running of the plantation. She and Violet hear about a slave preacher named Nat Turner who baptizes in the river. They go to see him. Nat ends up working at their plantation and tells Harriet about a loving and forgiving God - very different from the vengeful God that Richard preaches about. Nat asks Harriet to draw a map for him of the surrounding area so that he can go to different plantations to preach to the slaves. What he ends up doing is leading a slave rebellion and killing 57 people on the surrounding plantations, including all of Harriet's family. Harriet and Violet are the only ones left. Harriet contacts her Uncle Arthur in England and tells him that everyone is dead. Harriet runs the plantation until Uncle Arthur can get there. She feels responsible for giving Nat the map. When Nat is captured, she is afraid that she will be blamed for the map. She and Violet find the map and Harriet wants to destroy it, but Uncle Arthur arrives and insists that they turn it in to the sheriff. Harriet finds out that Uncle Arthur is actually her father and that Violet is her half-sister.

The book contains graphic descriptions of the killings done by Nat Turner. Uncle Arthur also explains about his affairs with a slave resulting in Violet's birth and also with a writer in England, who was Harriet's mother. Ann Rinaldi explains in notes at the end that Nat Turner is a great mystery to historians because they don't know why he revolted and killed all the people that he did. All of his previous life he had been a minister who preached peace and love. The author presents both sides of his personality without painting him as either a hero or a villain.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Isabel and Ruth Finch are promised their freedom when Miss Mary Finch dies, but instead they are sold to a wealthy English couple, Anne and Elihu Lockton. They are taken to New York where conflict is high between the Loyalists and the Patriots. Isabel finds herself spying for the patriots. Her sister Ruth has epilepsy and when she has a seizure, Anne sells her. Isabel runs away but is captured and branded I for Insolance. Lady Seymour, the master's aunt, befriends Isabel and nurses her back to health, but then returns her to Madam Lockton. Curzon, a young slave boy about Isabel's age, befriends her and helps her when he can. There is a terrible fire and Lady Seymour's house burns. Isabel rescues her and takes her to the Locktons. Curzon is captured along with other rebel soldiers and put into jail. Isabel brings him scraps of food from the Lockton house. Isabel continues passing messages for the rebels, but is caught and put into the potato bin. She decides to run. She manages to get Curzon out of jail by offering to clean the cells and carrying him out in a wheelbarrow as a dead body. They find a boat and escape to Jersey. Sequel will be Forge.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah is an eleven year old boy living in a free settlement of former slaves in Canada. Many of the people living there are saving money to buy the rest of their family from slavery. One of the resident, Mr. Leroy does get the money to buy his family. One of the other residents, the Right Reverend Deacon Doctor Zephariah Connerly the Third, who is not always trustworthy, volunteers to take the money to American and buy Mr. Leroy's family through an abolitionist friend. Another resident of the community volunteers to go with him to be sure everything goes smoothly. Zephariah shoots his companion and takes the money to gamble. Mr. Leroy kidnaps Elijah and takes him to America to find Zephariah and get his money back. Mr. Leroy dies, but Elijah does find Zephariah and also a slave stable where he finds a family that has been captured and chained. What can he do to help?