Courage to Run

Title: Courage to Run
Author: Wendy Lawton
Series: Daughters of the Faith series
Major Themes: Harriet Tubman, Slavery
Synopsis: As a young girl, Harriet Tubman needed courage to do what she knew God had for her.

I first heard of the Daughters of the Faith series a few years ago, and thought they sounded like good books. I can’t justify buying all the books I want to read, though, so never had the chance to read one until I noticed Courage to Run on a friend’s bookshelf recently. I’m thankful for friends who allow us to read their books!

Courage to Run is based on the life of Harriet Tubman. I recognized some of the incidents from other books I’ve read about her, but I’m guessing that a lot of this book was created to tell the story, since there isn’t really a lot known for sure about the famous woman’s life.

Young Minty, as she was called when she was a girl, was born a slave on a plantation in Maryland. Her owner had fallen on hard times, and the slaves were constantly worried about being sold. Minty’s mother did not want her daughter to work in the fields, but the girl couldn’t stand the thought of working in the house. Soon, however, she was hired out to work for a weaver. Because she made a simple mistake, she was threatened with a whipping, so she ran away. Forced to return to her cruel mistress, she worked as much as she had to—but inside she was unhappy. Would she ever escape from her hard life? Would she be able to do the work God had for her, and would she have the courage to do that work?

I found this book to be well written and very interesting. Wendy Lawton has taken a many-times-told story and found a fresh way to tell it. I would like to read more books from this series, and I know my children would love them, too.

WARNING: In chapter 2 a woman is whipped very badly. In chapter 4 Minty is hurt and called stupid. In chapter 7 Minty is whipped.