What kind of nutso place had he moved to, Sam thought. Exhumed bodies, war memorials doubling as monuments to living townspeople, and dead-end gates on every street. God almighty, why couldn't he be back in Indiana?
Fifteen-year-old Sam Brooks likes flat, the flat of the cornfields where he grew up. His Massachusetts born mother, still grieving over his father's death, may be glad to be "home," but Sum doesn't like New England.
Still, he is intrigued by the area's bizarre history - the incredible annihilation of four Swift River Valley towns, intentionally wiped off the map nearly fifty years ago to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Out of that destruction an "accidental wilderness" emerged, now threatened by developers seeking to exploit it for recreation. Soon, Sam finds himself caught up in the dream of a dying man, wildlife photographer Gus Early, who hopes to salvage something worthwhile from the sacrifices of the past by preserving the Quabbin and bringing back the eagles, But the future of the Quabbin and the eagle reintroduction program are inextricably linked to the past - to Lucy, a strange silent girl from another age; to Ilirah, a majestic bald eagle who can fly among the centuries. Sam must discover their secret if he is to realize Gus's dream.
Kathryn Lasky takes the reader along on a soaring flight of the imagination, a spellbinding story of loss and recovery, of personal sacrifice and unexpected redemption, of the many, mysterious paths 'home free."
KATHRYN LASKY is one of today's most talented authors of books for young readers, with outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction to her credit Her nonfiction titles include Sugaring Time, a Newbery Honor Book, and Puppeteer, starred in Booklist as "an elegant photo essay that is sure to inspire interest in the art," both with photographs by Christopher G. Knight. her novels include Prank and Beyond the Divide, each named ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Ms. Lasky, like the hero of Home Free, is a displaced midwesterner She was born and grew up in Indiana but now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and two children.