This Opening Sky

0,Historical fiction at its finest! A sweet and sensitive, accessible middle grade novel in verse, following an unlikely friendship in the aftermath of the American Civil War.A Junior Library Guild SelectionFinalist, 2024 CYBILS Awards for Poetry, Novels in Verse2025 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book WinnerAs Reconstruction begins, two 12-year-old girls join forces and head north to find their families....Elly's and Halle's distinct voices and strong personalities balance each other nicely as each in turn gives and receives help....A moving post-Civil War story of comradeship and self-discovery.--Kirkus ReviewsThe Civil War is over. Aurelia, the daughter of a destitute plantation owner, reels from the aftermath of a war that has torn her life apart. Halle, a newly freed slave, looks for a family she fears is lost forever. When fate brings the two girls together, they head north in a joint quest for freedom: one from human shackles, the other from pride. Differences and judgment soon give way to an unexpected friendship between two girls who have more in common than meets the eye, as do we all. Heartwarming and life-changing, This Opening Sky is a tale of hope that proves that when love overcomes prejudice, we're all set free together.Excerpts from the This Opening Sky AureliaMy hands are torn, blistered and bleeding.No longer the hands of a young lady.I drop my hoe and unwrap my bandaged fingers.Nails, once perfectly manicured, now dirty and broken.The hands of a field worker.SaryStay, Miss Ruby Lee say.Please don't go.She all the mamaI know now.What if Mamacome for me?Pa sayhe be back.What if he comeand I be gone?But if they comeand these folkdon't let me go, like they do Cassie and Thad, then what I'm gonna do?Seem like stayin'be wastin'my free.