"Fight for Freedom" by Norma Jean Lutz is the 19th book in The American Adventure Series. This historical fiction is based in Cincinnati in approximately the 1840s. The issue at hand in this particular book is slavery, although it is much more lightly touched upon than in the previous book. The character traits/morals highlighted include fearfulness, comparing oneself to others, and insecurity in general. For an review of the series as a whole and a description of how the books stay connected while moving through generations of time, click hear to read Knowledge House's review. If you've read the preceding books, you'll have some ideas of who the characters are, but you do not have to start with the first book and read them all in order. Feel free to pick up on the book covering the time frame you want to focus on and move forward from there. Moving in reverse order would get confusing as the characters referenced would regress in age. |
This book was not as action-packed as previous books were, so it wasn't my boys' favorite. However, the lessons in includes about how to handle anxiety are applicable to anyone. Major historical events took a bit of a backseat in this book, it seemed. There were occasional mentions of William Lloyd Garrison coming to Cincinnati to open a free-labor store, which would not sell any item produced with slave-labor. Also, details of how they lived in the time period are always woven into these type of stories, such as the types of clothing worn, methods of travel, and even a sense of discrimination against the German section of town at the time.
I didn't find anything objectionable to our little listener's ears so hooray for not having to paraphrase anything as I skimmed ahead in the book! Even though this book had less "meat" in it and less suspense, I appreciate the example it sets in good morals and it opens the door for conversations. My kids have learned and retained a good amount from reading the American Adventure Series so far and we will continue reading them as a part of our elementary American History for homeschool.