Martha Finley

"'Slavery is a great evil and we must stand against it,' insisted Millie. 'But we've never seen ourselves. How are we supposed to know for sure if the awful stories we hear are true?' Effie asked. 'Millie will find out,' Celestia Ann said with certainty. 'I...will?' said Millie as she looked from one to the other. 'Of course you will,' Celestia Ann said. 'You can't spend four months on a cotton plantation without seeing for yourself!' 'What are you talking about?' Millie asked, gripping her Bible." When fifteen-year-old Millie Keith prepared a Bible study teaching on the evils of slavery, she didn't know that God was about to give her an opportunity to investigate the truth firsthand. To help cure her persistent cough, she leaves her family and frontier home in Indiana to visit a wealthy plantation in the South owned by her Uncle Horace Dinsmore. Will Millie have the courage to live out her faith amidst relatives she doesn't know?

Vi is confident that her problems have been resolved, but mistrust and misunderstanding lead to one of the most difficult challenges of her life. The happiness of her new family is at stake, and if Vi doesn't act wisely, hearts will surely be broken.

Meet Violet Travilla, the daughter of Elsie Dinsmore. Violet is a fourteen-year-old Christian girl growing up in the late 1800's. Today's readers will find it easy to identify with Violet's growing faith and struggle toward maturity. Book one begins in 1877, when creative, independent fourteen-year-old Violet learns that growing up brings new problems, feelings, and questions. As the entire Travilla family faces a tragic loss, Violet discovers that true faith defeats even hidden doubts.

'Slavery is a great evil and we must stand against it,' insisted Millie. 'But we've never seen it ourselves. How are we supposed to know for sure if the awful stories we hear are true?' Effie asked. 'Millie will find out,' Celestia Ann said with certainty. 'I...will?' Millie questioned as she looked from one to the other. 'Of course you will,' Celestia Ann said. 'You can't spend four months on a cotton plantation without seeing for yourself! You will write to us, won't you?' 'What are you talking about?' asked Millie, her head spinning. 'I'm not going anywhere!' 'I thought you knew, Millie. Everybody else knows.' 'What do they know, and how do they know it?' Millie asked, gripping her Bible. When fifteen-year-old Millie Keith prepared a Bible study teaching on the evils of slavery, she didn't know that God was about to give her an opportunity to investigate the truth firsthand. To help cure her persistent cough, she leaves her family and frontier home in Indiana to visit the wealthy plantation in the South owned by her Uncle Horace Dinsmore. Will Millie have the courage to live out her faith amidst relatives she doesn't know?