Michael is a slave in Charleston, S.C. He is well treated, as slaves go, but he longs for freedom. He has been hired out by the widow who owns him to work on a boat in the Charleston harbor... work Michael loves. But when the old woman dies and Michael is inherited by her greedy son, he decides to take a gamble on escape to the north by stowing away on a ship. He decides he should change his name, and becomes Noah Brown. He has his ups and downs along the way, and several "white saviors" who help him along.
A solid, but largely unremarkable entry into the middle grade canon of pre-Civil War slavery tales. With today's sensibilities, the white savior aspect is bound to bother some. ( )