Civil War is raging in America and fifteen-year-old Thomas Beck doesn't quite fit in. He's neither black nor white, slave nor free, and yet, Thomas dreams of becoming a Yankee and joining the fight for freedom. After successfully sneaking into the Union Army, Thomas gets his wish, but he's a Chinese Yankee-different in looks and hairstyle, but not in heart. Finding himself unwelcome by either blue or gray, Thomas forms an unlikely friendship with a runaway slave as the fight moves toward a pivotal moment in Gettysburg. Freedom for Me is a historical novel based on a real Chinese Yankee, one of only a few who served in the American Civil War. "A moving depiction of courage and immigrant pride amid the horrors of war." Kirkus Reviews (starred review).Winner of Children's Literary Classics Gold Award for upper middle grade Coming-of-Age fiction and Silver Award for historical fiction. Skipping Stones Honor Award for Multicultural Teen Fiction.
