This Opening Sky
Kelly Hollman
(Author)
Description
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 Selection
Finalist, 2024 CYBILS Awards for Poetry, Novels in Verse
2025 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book Winner
“As 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 Reviews
The 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:
Aurelia
My 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.
Sary
“Stay,” Miss Ruby Lee say.
“Please don’t go.”
She all the mama
I know now.
What if Mama
come for me?
Pa say
he be back.
What if he come
and I be gone?
But if they come
and these folk
don’t let me go,
like they do Cassie and Thad,
then what I’m gonna do?
Seem like stayin’
be wastin’
my free.
Product Details
| Publisher | Milk & Cookies |
| Publish Date | July 23, 2024 |
| Pages | 160 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781638192152 |
| Dimensions | 8.5 X 5.5 X 0.6 inches | 0.5 pounds |
Reviews
Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2024
As Reconstruction begins, two 12-year-old girls join forces and head north to find their families.
Aurelia and Halle Lujah, each living on a different Virginia plantation, narrate this verse novel, set in 1865. Aurelia, who is white, reminisces about a privileged life of parties as she attempts to raise vegetables now that the people her family formerly enslaved have left. Halle, who is Black, renames herself now that she’s free and sets out in search of her parents. The girls’ paths cross, and a tragedy finds Halle tending to Aurelia, who wants to find her brother, a soldier who fought with the Union. Both realize it’s safer to travel together, and they don men’s clothes. Aurelia now goes by “Elly,” a nickname from her beloved brother. Together the girls cross a bloody battlefield and navigate using Halle’s knowledge of the North Star. They protect each other at great personal cost, and true friendship blossoms. Elly’s and Halle’s distinct voices and strong personalities balance each other nicely as each in turn gives and receives help. While the authors tread ground that will be familiar to readers of historical fiction—Elly teaching Halle to read—they also include thought-provoking moments as the characters contemplate death, wonder whether good acts can counteract past misdeeds, and encounter a formerly enslaved woman who chooses to stay on her plantation despite knowing that she can leave.
A moving post–Civil War story of comradeship and self-discovery.
(historical notes, publisher’s note) (Verse historical fiction. 11-14)
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