In 1848, an educated slave girl faces an inconceivable choice โ between bondage and freedom, family and love.
On one side of the Mason-Dixon Line lives fifteen-year-old Willow, her masterโs favorite servant. Sheโs been taught to read and has learned to write. She believes her master is good to her and fears the rebel slave runaways. On the other side of the line is seventeen-year-old Cato, a black man, free born. Itโs his personal mission to sneak as many fugitive slaves to freedom as he can. Willowโs and Catoโs lives are about to intersect, with life-changing consequences for both of them. Tonya Cherie Hegaminโs moving coming-of-age story is a poignant meditation on the many ways a person can be enslaved, and the force of will needed to be truly emancipated.
In 1848, an educated slave girl faces an inconceivable choice โ between bondage and freedom, family and love.
On one side of the Mason-Dixon Line lives fifteen-year-old Willow, her masterโs favorite servant. Sheโs been taught to read and has learned to write. She believes her master is good to h...