Stella Reid is fighting to save the home she loves. After her father is
killed and her mother succumbs to yellow fever, it's up to Stella to run
Oak Grove, her family's plantation. Unlike most Southerners, Stella sees
herself as equal to the African Americans she works side-by-side with in
the cotton fields. The white Southerners reject her, and the freed men
can't trust her after generations of enduring the horrors of slavery. So
Stella stands alone as she fights to follow through on her father's
dream to leave Oak Grove to her and the slaves. His will is nowhere to
be found. Now, the bank has foreclosed on the plantation -- and the day
of the auction is rapidly approaching. With no legal claim to the land,
Stella is confronted with the possibility of losing Oak Grove, the only
home she's ever known.
In this inspiring novel, A. LaFaye, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for
Historical Fiction, recounts a young woman's struggle to save her
family's land and preserve their memory, illuminating the harsh
realities faced by women and freed slaves during the turbulent years
after the Civil War.