From the author of Eliza's Freedom Road and Calico Girl comes a
historical middle grade adventure about an enslaved girl's journey on
the Overland Trail to California during the Gold Rush, and how she took
the chance to fight for freedom.
In Alexandria, Virginia, in the mid-19th century, a slave-owning family
is facing financial trouble. The eldest son, Jason, thinks going to
California to mine for gold might be the best way to protect his
father's legacy. He'll need a cook, a laundress, and a hostler for the
journey, and one of them is twelve-year-old Clementine, whose mother
calls her Hope.
From Independence, Missouri--the "Gateway to the West"--she and the
others join a wagon train on the Emigrant Overland Trail. But what Jason
didn't consider is taking the three enslaved people west will give them
an opportunity to free themselves--manifesting their destiny.