The Threat (Christian Heritage Series: The Charleston Years #3)
Grade 4-5-These stories take place near Charleston, SC, immediately before the Civil War. Eleven-year-old Austin Hutchinson, his mother, and his younger brother have come down from the North to stay with relatives while their mother recuperates from an unknown illness. Since Austin and his family are outright abolitionists, their presence on the Canaan Grove plantation brings trouble for Uncle Drayton Ravenal. Austin causes more trouble by befriending Henry-James, a young slave on the plantation. In The Threat, Austin runs across bullies who threaten to beat him up for wearing an American flag pin. In The Trap, Narvel Guthrie plays nasty and dangerous tricks on Austin and Henry-James. In each of the stories, Austin uses his "book smarts" to triumph over the bad guys. The stories relay interesting information about daily plantation life. The stories explore the feelings of both Northerners and Southerners toward slavery and the prospect of war. However, the dominant Christian theme is excessive and detracts from the plot. Additionally, readers may find the Southern dialect hard to comprehend. Not first choices for historical-fiction collections.Sarah O'Neal, Salt Lake County Library System, UTCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.