The Freedom Run

R.G. Moyles is a professor of English at the University of Alberta,
co-author of Imperial Dreams and Colonial Realities: British Views of
Canada, 1880-1914, and co-editor of The Collected Works of E.J. Pratt.

Falling in love can have unexpected consequences. For 17-year-old
Michael Preston, leading a rather dull life in Minichinas, Saskatchewan,
and smitten to the point of irrationality, it results in a
never-to-be-forgotten experience in the war-torn Andes. The only way he
can be with Carol, his first real love, is to join her as a reluctant
participant on a Catholic missionary work project in Chile. There he
comes face to face with the horrors of civil war and its effects on the
children: somewhat blindly, he gets involved in a daring “freedom
run,” helping a wanted revolutionary and some orphans to escape across
the mountains into Argentina. In the process he learns a great deal
about love, about freedom, and mostly about himself.

That outline makes the story seem rather melodramatic: it is not. The
novel, aimed at teenagers, is believable, exciting, and well balanced.
Certainly, any teenage reader seeking plausible adventure will be
rewarded: there are action and suspense aplenty. But there is also much
to stir emotions—battered children, needless violence, the imbecility
of war—and to prompt questions about trust, personal motives and
religious faith. Campagna manages to interweave the issues with the
action skillfully enough to avoid any charges of sentimentality, overt
didacticism, and unnecessary manipulation of the plot. Yes, at times the
disputes between seeming Christians are just a little overdone, but on
the whole this is an excellent first novel. One hopes that Campagna will
keep on writing.