Growing up in the deeply segregated South of the 1920s, Ada and Matilda should never have been friends. They probably would not have crossed paths if Matilda had not seen an injustice she could not abide.
Ada suffers at the hand of her brute like father and is isolated in a stilt house in the Trace. Matilda has a loving home amongst a community of sharecroppers yet she experiences injustice and racism on a daily basis.
Even though Ada is the daughter of her enemy, Virgil Morgan, Matilda rescues Ada from his evil intentions. She helps Ada become more self-sufficient but she doesn’t reveal what she knows about about Frank. Feeling she has done enough, she goes her own way.
Ada who had a bully for a father now must overcome another heinous influence in her life–Frank. Matilda works with an underground network of African Americans using secret messages that help her spread the words about what injustices she has seen.
This is a unique story that gives both girls stories equal weight and demonstrates the value of friendship and loyalty. Working together, they will build a friendship and find a way out of the Trace.
Chantal W.