Unbound: A Novel in Verse

Grace is only nine years old, but when one is a slave – Age doesn’t matter. Being old enough to work is old enough, especially when one has an uncaring master and a mistress who is mean as a hungry gator and vengeful as a startled skunk. Grace is ripped from her mother and brothers and taken to serve in the big house. She really has to watch herself and never let her thoughts slip out between her lips; not an easy task for a smart and headstrong girl like Grace. When she slips up, she puts her mother and brothers in great danger, and they have no choice but to go on the run. The road to freedom is fraught with peril and worry.

Author Ann E. Burg tells this compelling tale of a little-known trail into the Great Dismal Swamp where some runaway slaves found refuge and freedom still within the Deep South. And she tells this tale entirely in verse, using the deeply-accented voice of her uneducated, stubborn main character, nine-year-old Grace. It is a powerful story that stands as a testament to those brave souls who survived so much. Don’t miss this one.