Civil War is raging in America and fifteen-year-old Thomas Beck doesn’t quite fit in. He’s neither black nor white, slave nor free, and yet, Thomas dreams of becoming a Yankee and joining the fight for freedom. After successfully sneaking into the Union Army, Thomas gets his wish, but he’s a Chinese Yankee—different in looks and hairstyle, but not in heart. Finding himself unwelcome by either blue or gray, Thomas forms an unlikely friendship with a runaway slave as the fight moves toward a pivotal moment in Gettysburg. Freedom for Me is a historical novel based on a real Chinese Yankee, one of only a few who served in the American Civil War.   

​

• 2018 Literary Classics Gold Medal Winner, Coming of Age Upper Middle Grade Fiction

• 2018 Literary Classics Silver Medal Winner, Historical Upper Middle Grade Fiction

• 2018 Royal Dragonfly Award, Honorable Mention, Cultural Diversity & Historical Fiction

• 2018 Skipping Stones Honor Award for Multicultural Teen Fiction

​

​

​

​