Cynthia Toney was one of the first of my writer friends to be published. Her historical novel for tweens and teens is a favorite read.

Synopsis

In a southern U.S. farming community in 1925, thirteen-year-old Salvatore and his Italian immigrant father become involved against their will in a crime that results in the murder of an innocent man and family friend. Amidst bigotry, bootlegging, police corruption, and gangland threats, Sal must discover whom he can trust in order to protect himself and his family and win back his father’s freedom. Sal’s family, their African-American farmhand, and the girl who is Sal’s best friend find their lives forever changed as dreams are shattered and attitudes challenged in a small community called Freedom.

Pros

1. Books set in America in the 1920s are not nearly as numerous as those set during World War II or the Civil War. Cynthia Toney brings the Prohibition Era to life, living in a time of gangsters and graft.
2. The premise of the story is based on moral dilemma. A young teen finds there is no easy right or wrong answer as to what he should do. If he does what he knows is morally right, someone dies. If he compromises his values, evil continues, and he is guilty of allowing it to continue. Middle-graders are ready to confront ambiguities in life, and Cynthia Toney does a marvelous job of keeping Sal’s anguish at a gentle level rather than going at the problem with a battering ram.
3. The Other Side of Freedom has won several national awards with good reason. I’ve included the list.

2018 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS: 

First Place, Grand Prize Fiction  

First Place, Children’s/Juvenile Fiction 

2018 CATHOLIC PRESS ASSOCIATION BOOK AWARDS: 

Third Place, Children’s

2018 READERS FAVORITE BOOK AWARDS:

Gold Medal, Children: Coming of Age

2018 INDEPENDENT AUTHOR NETWORK BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS: 

Outstanding Fiction (First Place), Children’s/Juvenile Fiction

Second Place, Fiction Book of the Year

2018 LITERARY CLASSICS BOOK AWARDS:

Gold, Upper Middle Grade, General

Gold, Upper Middle Grade, Historical

 

Cons

 

What cons?

 

Discussion Questions

 

1. Why do you think Sal wanted to leave Freedom as soon as he was old enough?

 

2. Sal’s Uncle Enzo was both a friend and a mentor to him. Why was Sal so concerned for him?

 

3. Name something Sal chose to do that his parents would not have approved of. Why did he do it? Was that a good reason?

 

4. Why did Antonina’s father want her to stop being friends with Sal?

 

Conclusion

 

The Other Side of Freedom is a novel of struggle and hope, of friendships gained and friendships lost. With a boy as a main character and a girl as a strong secondary character, children of either gender will enjoy the book.