The Hollow Locust Trees

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Hannah’s father, a famous photojournalist, is about to depart for an
extended assignment in Guatemala and leave her stranded on an Ontario
farm where nothing interesting ever seems to happen. Then Hannah
discovers ancient bone fragments in a newly planted field. After
learning that the bones are human, she is led by a series of unusual
clues to a secret treasure hidden inside an old hollow tree and,
ultimately, to making friends with Araminta, an American slave girl from
another century. Araminta is more like a time traveler than a ghost.
Sometimes she comes to Hannah’s century and sometimes Hannah goes back
to Araminta’s. Instead of dragging on day after day, the summer is
over before the two friends know it; suddenly they realize they may
never see each other again.

This first novel by Ann Dekker Towell has some original ideas. Towell
compares the American underground railroad, used by Americans escaping
slavery in the 19th century, to the refugee network that helps
persecuted people find sanctuary in Canada in the late 20th century.
Although Towell’s narrative instincts are good, her writing skills
often let her down. Her prose is filled with clunkers like “He ...
declared in a sepulchral tone” and “The day loomed endlessly.” On
one page, she even includes a footnote to explain a metaphor about
Morpheus. Recommended with reservations.