Release Date: February 9, 2010
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Twelve-year-old Albert counts himself among the lucky, for he is recently freed from the shackles of slavery. Together with his friends Sam and Will, he must face the chaos, desperation, and bitter backlash of a people divided. As the war ends and citizens attempt to return to the normal, the three boys begin their journey, a path that will lead them to self-discovery. Armed with their freedom and each other, the boys must face the violence of the Ku Klux Klan. It is only then that they will realize how Costly Freedom truly is. Terry Webb has penned a timeless account of the struggle felt during the time of our country's Reconstruction Period, a reminder to generations past of the meaning of freedom.
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“I found Costly Freedom to be a very intriguing book. The story is very well written, and a very interesting read. Throughout the book, I was able to connect with the characters and feel the inner and outer struggle that they faced each day of living.”
“What’s it like?” Sam asked, “being emancipated?”
“What you mean?”
“I mean – what you said about being free,” Sam said.
Albert grinned, stood up and thumped his chest. “See… I’se me…I’se a person… Caint nobody own me… Caint nobody boss me, ‘cept my Mammy and Pappy…Can be who I wants to be when I’se grown up.”
“What do you want to be?” Sam asked.
“Don’t want to be no field hand like my Pappy and all these other black folks.” Albert waved his hand from one side of the cabin to the other, taking in all the darkies they could see camped around the big house. “Wants to be somebody with learn’n. Maybe ‘a learn’n others like you learnd me.”