Samuel's an educated boy. Been taught by a priest. He was never supposed to be a slave. He's a good boy too, thoughtful and kind. The type of boy who'd take the blame for something he didn't do, if it meant he could save his brother. So now they don't call him Samuel anymore. And the sound of guns is getting ever closer ... Jon Walter's second novel is a beautiful and moving story about the power of belief and the strength of the human spirit, set against the terrifying backdrop of the American Civil War.
'It isn't often I'm left lost for words, but that's the way I felt when I finished reading this superb YA novel...It's epic in scale, but built out of the smallest things - great sentences and great dialogue...it will keep you utterly gripped' - Guardian
'This is an epic, vivid, emotionally involving, thought-provoking novel from a writer of distinction' - Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week
Author
About Jon Walter
Jon Walter is inspired by the power of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. A former photojournalist, he took pictures of the people we rarely get to see, and as a writer he listens out for the quieter voices of those that don't get heard. Here, inspired by the suffragette movement, he explores how it was the everyday decisions of women over their own lives that made its success inevitable. Jon's previous books, Close to the Wind and My Name's Not Friday, were also published by DFB, and have been shortlisted for numerous awards.
