Sarah's Promise is the second book in the Sarah series, a series that focuses on life in and around the small village of Wapakoneta, Ohio, in the late 1850s. This latest adventure in young Sarah Smith's life opens several weeks after she has lost her mother in a buggy accident (the focus of Sarah's Wish). She is still hoping to find the family of her dreams, but in the meantime she's learning that "Granny" Evans may be the family God has chosen for her right now. However, Sarah hasn't much time to dwell on her own wants and desires. She is struck a serious emotional blow when she learns that her dear friends--former slaves who are now free--have been kidnapped by slave catchers and taken to the South to be "returned" to their master. In addition, another villain is introduced: Sarah's creepy and evil-minded Uncle Rafe. He is determined to possess the thirteen-year-old's only legacy from her dead parents--her farm, and Sarah along with it.

Sarah and Granny embark on a trip to learn of their black friends' fate, eventually teaming up with some Quakers to guide the rescued slaves back to freedom. Dodging slave catchers, riding the rail cars, and traveling on stagecoaches give the reader a sense of really being there. Like Sarah's Wish, historical details are sprinkled throughout this 241-page story for middle-grade readers (including the story of Johnny Appleseed), as well as a generous amount of dialect and figures of speech.

Although the first book jumped around to include points of view from various secondary characters, the reader always knew that Sarah was the focal character. Not so with Sarah's Promise. I was disappointed that Sarah seemed to take a backseat in this adventure, while the author bounced around from one character to the next. I found the story more episodic and fragmented than the first book, with the narrative slowing the action down. I also kept hoping that Sarah would soon take center stage again. She is a bright, spunky character, and I would have liked to have seen more conflict involving this delightful young lady.

But all in all, Sarah's Promise is a good way to introduce the Underground Railroad in a unit study for U.S. history. The book is an easy read and includes a helpful glossary of terms to assist young readers with unfamiliar terms.

Product review by Susan K. Marlow, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December, 2008