When twelve-year-old Homer flees the Southerland Plantation with his younger sister, they leave their mother behind. Deep in the swamps, they discover Freewater, a community of formerly enslaved peoples and find a new friends and adventures before returning to free their mother. A first edition in Very Fine condition in like dust jacket, Freewater won the 2023 Newbery Medal and the 2023 Coretta Scott King Book Award.