Just 19 years old, Henry Forester is the youngest pilot in his Air Force squadron. Still, he's one of the best fliers, facing Hitler's Luftwaffe in the war-torn skies above France. But when his plane is shot down on a mission behind enemy lines, Henry finds himself on a whole new battleground. Wounded, hungry, and afraid, he struggles toward freedom on foot, relying on the kindness and cunning of the French Resistance to reach the next town alive. Each day brings him nearer to home and closer to danger. Yet even as Henry struggles for his own survival in a hostile country, he quickly grows to realize the great peril that surrounds all the French people, and to admire the strength and determination of the freedom fighters who risk death to protect him.

March 1945: World War II may be ending, but for 19-year-old bomber pilot, Henry Forester, the conflict still rages. Shot down over France, Henry endured a dangerous trek to freedom, relying on civilians and Resistance fighters to stay alive. But back home in Virginia, Henry is still reliving air battles with Hitler's Luftwaffe and his torture by the Gestapo. Mostly, Henry can't stop worrying about the safety of those who helped him escape — especially one young French boy, Pierre, who, because of Henry, may have lost everything.

When Henry returns to France to find Pierre, he is stunned by the brutal aftermath of combat: starvation, cities shattered by Allied bombing, and the shocking return of concentration camp survivors. Amidst the rubble of war, Henry must begin a daring search for a lost boy — plus a fight to regain his own internal peace and the trust of the girl he loves.

The Civil War has broken out and Annie Sinclair's Virginia home is in the line of battle. Caught up in the rising conflict, Annie and her mother tend to wounded soldiers while Annie's brothers enlist in the Confederate army. Soon Annie takes a riskier role to protect her family and farm: she conceals Confederate soldiers and warns Southern commanders of Union traps

Annie's loyalty is clear until a wounded Union officer is dragged onto her porch. After several chance encounters, Annie is surprised by her growing interest in the dark-eyed Northerner as they connect through a shared passion for poetry. As the war rages on, Annie begins to question some of the values driving Virginia's involvement in the conflict.

Give Me Liberty explores the Revolutionary ideas and risks colonists faced in their quest for liberty. Thirteen-year-old Nathaniel Dunn is an indentured servant laboring on a tobacco plantation in colonial Virginia. When he is sold in an auction, he is separated from his one friend, a young slave named Moses.

In a twist of luck, Nathaniel meets Basil, a kind, elderly schoolmaster, who brings him to Williamsburg where patriots and loyalists are clashing. An arrangement is struck for Nathaniel to work for an ill-tempered carriage maker loyal to the British in a town increasingly led by patriots such as Thomas Jefferson. The year is 1775. Colonists are enraged by England's taxation. All around Nathaniel, people are joining the struggle for liberty, spurred on by Patrick Henry's impassioned words, "Give me liberty or give me death." Fearful of trouble, Nathaniel avoids taking sides. Gradually, Basil's books and music, plus an apprentice named Ben, open Nathaniel's mind to the idea of equality. When Ben is wounded by British marines in Williamsburg's gunpowder magazine, Nathaniel joins the fight as a fifer in the 2nd Virginia Regiment.

But Nathaniel's belief in the Revolution is marred by the fact Moses is still in bondage. Moses' only chance for liberty is to run away and join the British Royal Ethiopian, a regiment of escaped Virginian slaves. What is the meaning of liberty in a country that depends on slaves and indentured servants?

L.M. Elliott is author of the following young adult (YA) historical novels: Under a War-Torn Sky, a Notable Book in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC), a Jefferson Cup Honor Book, winner of Border's Original Voices Award for YA Literature, and a finalist for the Iowa, PA, SC, and MD state teen literature awards; its sequel, A Troubled Peace, also a Notable Book in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC); plus Annie, Between the States, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, IRA Teachers' choice, and VA Readers' Choice finalist; Give Me Liberty; and Flying South, winner of the Joan G. Sugarman Children's Literature Award.

A long-time writer for the Washingtonian magazine, Elliott was twice a finalist for the National Magazine Award and recipient of numerous Dateline awards. She wrote often on children, women's issues, and health. Elliott graduated from Wake Forest University and holds a masters in journalism from the University of North Carolina. Elliott lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, two children, and their herd of pets.

Visit her website for more details about her life and writing.