Escape from Heart

By Lynette Stark

Heart Colony, founded as a Mennonite community striving to be close to God and nature, becomes a place of fear, denial, and injustice under the cruel and evil direction of a new leader, Hezekiel Whittenstone. Sarah Ruth Heart wants one simple thing-to compete in the countywide spelling bee-but her uncle Hezekiel refuses to allow it. Sarah Ruth struggles with her desire to attend school and compete in the spelling bee, to be attractive to the boy she secretly likes, and to overstep the boundaries dictated by the repressive Hezekiel. Her secret rebellion brings danger to herself and her family, and Sarah Ruth is forced to make difficult decisions about her future-with consequences that are more far-reaching than she ever could have imagined.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152023852
• ISBN13: 9780152023850
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Proud of This Book

This is my book, and I am proud of it, not just because of the wonderful publisher, Harcourt, and the great editor, Karen Groves, but also because my literary agent, Laura Rennert, of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, believed in me and took a chance. This book is largely based on a true story of what happened to friends of mine. At the time I could not say that, but circumstances have changed, and they have since said it's okay to tell that. The Mennonite kidnapping of the children from their parents, by another group of Mennonites, although slightly different, did happen, and was in our local newspaper several decades ago. It happened during the time that the prisoner escaped from the jail, stole a nearby fuel truck, because a fuel company is next to the jail, and overturned it. The Mennonites did come to the aid of the town during this event, and as described in my book, they did dig up the fuel-soaked dirt around our county courthouse, which is across from the jail. The catalyst that sent my Mennonite friends out of their colony, which is how they labeled it in our area, and how it is described in newspaper clippings, was when my friend's daughter at the Mennonite school, won the spelling bee and wanted to compete in the county-wide one, just as I described it in my book. The spelling bee itself was based upon my oldest daughter's spelling bee experience, however. School in the South, where I live and teach school, starts in the first week of August, which is why my book starts with August. Mennonites as a whole are nice people and I respect them. However, like all of us, they suffer sometimes from following the wrong people, or things happen that they cannot control, or that someone in their group causes. The Mennonites in our area, being Southerners, do have guns, because they also hunt, like most Southerners. Some things did NOT happen in real life in my book, however, and there was no single "Hezekiel." My whole point in my book was that good people, no matter what religion, have to learn how to stand up for what is in their hearts that they know is right, especially if a religious leader is doing something wrong. My point was that even the best of people, like the Mennonites, can have this happen. But that in the end, the best in people will prevail, which is what also happens in my book, and what happened in real life. I hope to improve as a writer, because I know I need to, and can, and I hope to become one of the best for the sake of the stories I would like to tell, but I am proud of my first effort. I am glad that I can clear up the confusion some critics had regarding my portrayal of Mennonites in this book. I have great respect for the Mennonites, both on and off, the colony in my town.

A Breath of Fresh Air

Lynette Stark's Escape from Heart is a breath of fresh air. It is surely a book many middle school students will enjoy. Young women especially, will connect to many of Sarah Ruth Heart's struggles as a young woman. I-N-D-I-V-I-D-U-A-L-I-S-M is Sarah's theme. The quest for it defined her and set a wonderful example for teens. I also found that reading into the Mennonite way of life is an interesting peek into other cultures and beliefs. I am anxious to read Lynette Stark's future books.Mrs. Jones, Eastview Middle School, Illinois

A classic in the making....

I am more than touched by this drama of the spirit that surpasses its simplistic setting. Stark delicately weaves into her characters the vibrant colors that would not otherwise be found in the somewhat bleak landscape of the Mennonite colony. I applaud her role as storyteller and educator as I have spent many years studying various facets of American culture and find the task of presenting a studied people in mere words and paragraphs a near impossible task. This classic tale is one for all ages as the search for our own freedom, and the strength to use it, grows with age.

Sure to be a classic

What a delight! For the young reader, the story is poignant, yet purposeful; for the sophisticated reader, the novel abounds in literary technique, most heavily in symbolism. Because of the subtle nature of the symbolism, it is not distracting to the younger reader--true marks of a literary craftsman.