Hart, Alison. Gabriel's triumph

Hart, Alison. Gabriel’s triumph [Racing to freedom trilogy #2]. 2007 [978-1-15645-410-5//1-15645-410-9]

In Kentucky, Grabriel is a recently freed slave and is a jockey for his former master’s horses. He is getting quite a name for himself as a jockey in 1864. While the Civil War is ongoing, this is a story of life going on during the war as usual possible. Gabriel misses his father who has joined the Union Army. As a winning jockey, Gabriel is getting more responsibilities around the farm. I liked reading of a former slave during the Civil War in a society that was trying to function in spite of the Civil War. So many stories make us readers think that there was pre-war, then the war, and after-war. Many times readers do not get a picture that life continued even as the horrors of the war were going on. There are historical notes at the end. This 168 page book was a Junior Library Guild acquisition. Although it appears short, the type is close together and is more of a read than one expects. I will purchase book 1 and 3 now that I have read this one.