Set against the burgeoning Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and then just before the outbreak of the Civil War, The Freedom Maze explores both political and personal liberation, and how the two intertwine. In 1960, thirteen-year-old Sophie isn’t happy about spending the summer at her grandmother’s old house in the Bayou. But the house has a maze Sophie can’t resist exploring once she finds it has a secretive and mischievious inhabitant. When Sophie, bored and lonely, makes an impulsive wish, she slips back one hundred years into the past, to the year 1860. She hopes for a fantasy book adventure with herself as the heroine. Instead, she gets a real adventure in the race-haunted world of her family’s Louisiana sugar plantation in 1860, where she is mistaken for a slave. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is still two years in the future. The Thirteen Amendment—abolishing and prohibiting slavery—will not be not passed until April 1864. Muddy and bedraggled, Sophie obviously isn’t a young lady of good breeding. She must therefore be a slave. And she is. “Multilayered, compassionate and thought-provoking, a timely read on the sesquicentennial of America’s Civil War.”—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
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"I don't usually like time slip fiction, but this one was really well done. Definitely young adult fiction and a bit dated, at that, but it has an ageless appeal. One thing I wish was that the story within the story had a more satisfying conclusion. The fact that it didn't is one reason why I so easily classify it as young adult fiction. Still, it's an engaging read and I'd recommend it." — Tara (4 out of 5 stars)
"I don't usually like time slip fiction, but this one was really well done. Definitely young adult fiction and a bit dated, at that, but it has an ageless appeal. One thing I wish was that the story within the story had a more satisfying conclusion. The fact that it didn't is one reason why I so easily classify it as young adult fiction. Still, it's an engaging read and I'd recommend it."
“This multilayered story combines fantasy, clever literary allusions, and societal observations into a unique coming-of-age story.”
“Multilayered, compassionate, and thought-provoking, a timely read on the sesquicentennial of America’s Civil War.”
“Sherman has created a finely honed work of art, a novel that deals eloquently with complex and intersecting issues of race, womanhood, class, and age. In transporting the reader so fully into another time, The Freedom Maze becomes timeless.”
“A seamless blending of wondrous American myth with harsh American reality, as befits young Sophie’s coming-of-age. I think younger readers and adults alike will be completely riveted by her magical journey into her own family’s double-edged past.”
“Beautifully imagined and told with satisfyingly matter-of-fact detail: pot liquor and spoon bread, whips and Spanish Moss, corset covers and vévés and bitter, healing herbs. The Freedom Maze is deep, meaningful fun.”
" Thought provoking and well-researched. It's kind of a double time-travel story, because even the "current" portion of the story is set in 1960. "
" Excellent. Take total crap like the Help and shames it. "
" I love time travel books and this one is unique because the heroine travels back in time to become a slave so we learn a lot about life in the south before the Civil War. "
" I made it to page 86 having almost given up a bunch of times. I'm finally calling it quits on Freedom Maze. It's a good premise and the writing is not bad, but I just found it kind of boring. "
" I really enjoyed this. It was like Kindred by Butler, which I also loved. There was a real charm to the storytelling. "
" The writing was lovely and the characters believable. The end sneaks up on you, and feels a bit rushed. I liked the book, but the end left me thinking, "Oh... that's it?" "
" After a rather slow start set in the 1960s, I became engrossed in this time travel story. I loved the rich characterization. in particular. "
" If you liked this book, you might also enjoy Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, The Bell at Sealey Head, or I, Coriander. "
" Utterly fantastic book. *Utterly* fantastic. "
" Pretty good, although a bit too YA for my taste. A time travel that's a little too loaded with object lessons, but I did learn a lot about slavery. "
Delia Sherman is the author of Changeling and The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen, which was selected for the Sunshine State Young Reader’s Award Program. Her short stories for younger readers have appeared in numerous anthologies, including The Faery Reel, Firebirds, Troll’s Eye View, Coyote Road, and A Wolf at the Door. She is also the author of a number of novels for adults and is the coeditor of two anthologies. She lives in New York City.
Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic’s Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors’ unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England.
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