FREEWATER

Cary Hite and Sisi Aisha Johnson create an astonishing number of distinct characters in this historical fiction based on true stories of escaped enslaved people. Hite voices 12-year-old Homer, who escapes from the Southerland plantation with his younger sister, Ada. He conveys their childish naïveté and wonder when they are rescued and brought to Freewater, a secret community of escaped enslaved people who live hidden deep in a swamp. Hite is just as convincing as the plantation overseer who is hunting for the pair. In alternating chapters, Johnson is engaging as she voices Homer’s friend, Anna, at the plantation; the headstrong, freeborn Sanzi in Freewater, and various members of the plantation owner’s family. Working together, the two narrators bring the historical setting vividly to life. S.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Newbery Medal © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]