My Heart is on the Ground by Ann Rinaldi

She is referred to as a servant, and a house servant at that - a position of influence and respect. But on the plantation of Mount Vernon, the beautiful home of George and Martha Washington, she is not called a slave. When I was four and my daddy left, I cried, but I understood. But while she is able to influence generals, soldiers, and the president, she learns she doesn't hold such sway over her own heart - as she also discovers true love.īased on a true story, this is the amazing tale of one girl's path to womanhood. Sarah single-handedly manages to keep Mount Vernon out of the war. As battles rage around her, Sarah is determined to create a haven of peace at Mount Vernon. Lying to her family and her potential employer, Sarah becomes mistress of this decaying symbol of American freedom.Īnd then comes the American Civil War.

Then Sarah sees an advertisement looking for a young woman to oversee Mount Vernon, the old family home of George Washington. Sarah's tired of being shipped around, tired of being reminded that it's time to find a suitable husband. Now, at eighteen, it's time she was married, so she is being sent to dinner parties, plays, teas, soirees, talks, and chaperoned walks - always accompanied, always watched. Sarah Tracy has spent her entire life under constant supervision, always under the thumb of one older sibling or another. Encounters with Pilgrim bullies, the suicide of one woman, and blow-by-blow details of the hardships endured make this an exciting, intelligent addition to the excellent My Name Is America series. Although Jasper is a fictional character, the other characters in the story were real people, and the events are soundly based on factual accounts. Viewed through the eyes of 14-year-old Jasper, who records the events of his first 15 months in America in his journal, the Pilgrims' experiences take on a fresh, current feel. With the help of several Indians who befriended the settlers, many survived, although a number of them died. Beleaguered by internal strife and sickness, the passengers and crew of the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth ill-equipped to last the winter.

While many people are familiar with the history of the Pilgrims, popular historical novelist Ann Rinaldi ( The Last Silk Dress and A Break With Charity: A Story About the Salem Witch Trials) delves far deeper into the day-to-day life of these brave pioneers. In 1620, an indentured servant named Jasper Jonathan Pierce sets sail with his master and 100 others on the Mayflower, seeking adventure, freedom from the rules of King James's church, and a new way of life in America.

My Heart is on the Ground by Ann Rinaldi