Connie Rose Porter

In 1864, after her father and brother are sold to another owner, nine-year-old Addy Walker and her mother escape from their cruel life of slavery in North Carolina to freedom in Philadelphia.

In 1866, eleven-year-old Addy and her family gather in Cape Island, later known as Cape May, New Jersey, where she encounters an impoverished white girl who treats her badly.

Addy's jubilation over her family's new freedoms is cut short by the news that President Lincoln has been shot and killed.

Though her parents "jumped the broom" to get married when they were slaves, now that they are living free in Philadelphia after the Civil War they plan to have a church wedding and Addy works to complete a special quilt to give them as a wedding gift.

Addy knows that Christmas will be hard without Poppa, Sam, and Esther. When Addy spots a beautiful red scarf in a secondhand shop, she’s determined to save her money and buy it for Momma to brighten her holiday. But when Addy sees the plight of newly freed slaves, she’s torn. Can she help them and still save money for Momma’s scarf? In the end, Addy’s Christmas surprise for Momma is different from what she had planned. And a surprise awaiting Addy is better than she even dared to hope for.

After their escape from North Carolina to Philadelphia in the summer of 1864, Addy and her mother begin their new life as free people as her mother gets a paying job and Addy goes to school and learns a lesson in true friendship.

Addy's new life in Philadelphia in the late 1860s continues to hold surprises, as she competes in a kite festival and her teacher recommends her for the Institute for Colored Youth. Includes informational pages about the Institute for Colored Youth and how to make a kite.

After the Civil War ends in 1865, Addy desperately hopes that her family will be reunited in freedom in Philadelphia, but the future may hold both happiness and heartache.

Addy and Harriet feud over everything, including fund-raising plans to help the families of freed slaves, but tragedy finally forces them to stop fighting and work together.

The African-American inhabitants of a rundown housing project near Buffalo are the focus of Connie Porter's debut novel.

Imani All Mine brings together Connie Porter's insight into childhood and her firsthand knowledge of life in today's ghettoized world with the marvelously affecting story of Tasha, fifteen years old and the mother of a baby girl. "Mama say I'm grown now because I got Imani. She say Imani all mine. I know she all mine, and I like it just like that, not having to share my baby with no one." In her clear, pitch-perfect voice, Tasha recounts her days of diapers and schoolwork, of girl talk on the playground and terror in her ever more violent neighborhood. Tasha is a remarkable creation, a child mothering a child - bright, funny, brimming with the hopefulness and frank wisdom of youth. The name she gives her daughter, Imani, is a sign of her determination and fundamental trust despite the odds against her: Imani means faith. Imani All Mine is street-smart and lyrical, hilarious, tender, and tragic. Tasha's voice speaks directly to both the special pain of poverty and the universal, unconquerable spirit of youth.