Stealing South: A Story of the Underground Railroad

Hot-tempered Will Spencer is pretty sure of himself when he leaves the small town of Atwater, Ohio to make his fortune as a dry goods peddler. Given his family's history of helping slaves along the Underground Railroad, Will knows he is doing the right thing when he agrees to steal two slaves from a Kentucky farm and reunite them with their brother in Canada. Will becomes confused when he meets slave owners who treat him kindly, and learns that people are not always what they seem. Katherine Ayers' well-researched and easy to read novel portays realistic characters in believable situations. Will's letters to his family are touching, especially when he realizes the horror of the predicament he has gotten himself into. He now knows that show more good people can do bad things, and vice versa. Doing the right thing can be costly, which Will also learns in the unexpected ending of this this exciting book. NOTE: Ayers is honest in her depiction of slave traders who may force young women to have babies, in order to increase their "stock." show less

Will Spencer's family has always helped runaway slaves passing through their town as they travel the Underground Railroad. But Will is ready to leave Atwater, Ohio, and start a life of his own as a peddler seeking his fortune. When a runaway slave asks Will to help steal his older brother out of the South to keep him from being sold into the hard life of the cotton fields, Will amends his plan and begins an adventure that will take him into the heart of slavery's evil.

As he makes his way from Ohio to Kentucky, Will discovers that people are not always what they seem and that it's not always easy to tell right from wrong. After all, according to the law, stealing slaves is just as bad as robbing a man's house. Does that mean Will Spencer show more is a common thief? Or is he a young man doing what's right? show less