Books like Promises to the dead by Mary Downing Hahn

Mark Twain’s classic novel follows the first-person narration of Huckleberry "Huck" Finn as he journeyes down the Mississippi River in 19th‑century America, exploring adventure, friendship and the era’s social issues.

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic expose the brutal reality of American slavery, following the devout slave Tom as he faces injustice and moral dilemmas—an influential work that stirred Northern anti‑slavery sentiment before the Civil War.

Ashley and Kristi uncover an antique doll in Miss Cooper’s garden and find a portal to a ghostly turn‑of‑the‑century world, where they experience time‑travel adventures in a haunted garden.

When Molly and Michael become wary of their new stepsister Heather, they discover her inexplicably drawn to a mysterious ghost child and must decide whether to help her avoid a tragic fate.

In 1864 the nine‑year‑old Addy Walker and her mother flee North Carolina slavery after Addy’s father and brother are sold, seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad to Philadelphia.

Two fifteen‑year‑old girls—a slave and an indentured servant—escape a South Carolina plantation, journeying toward Fort Moses in Florida, a Spanish refuge for escaped slaves.

Two voices—Jules, whose father is restoring an abandoned house in Virginia, and a girl who once lived there—begin communicating across time, revealing a tragic past filled with danger, friendship, and the haunting pull of fate.

During the 1918 influenza crisis, new student Annie befriends the notorious Elsie, only to later be tormented by her ghost when Elsie dies.

After the Civil War ends in 1865, Addy yearns for family reunification and freedom in Philadelphia, while facing both promised joy and inevitable sorrow in the new postwar world.

When the classroom assigns a ‘Write‑A‑Book’ contest, Jessica must partner with the quiet, book‑loving Daphne. The unlikely duo uncover a dangerous secret that threatens their lives.

Addy's journey to freedom teaches her about friendship and resilience in the aftermath of the American Civil War.

Addy, a young girl of African American heritage, discovers friendship and the power of a birthday in 1865 Philadelphia, facing racial prejudice.

A summer away from home, Drew inherits a mysterious bag of marbles from his aunt at the family estate. When its ghostly warnings trigger a supernatural swap with a long‑dead twin named Andrew, Drew must outwit time itself to survive.

A bullied 12‑year‑old foster child named Brendan learns to navigate school life and find belonging with the help of an eccentric mentor and a new friend.

**What secrets does the Shadow Market hold?** The Shadow Market is a meeting point for faeries, werewolves, warlocks, and vampires. There, the Downworlders buy and sell magical objects, make dark bargains, and whisper secrets they do not want the Nephilim to know. Through two centuries, however, there has been a frequent visitor to the Shadow Market from the City of Bones, the very heart of the Shadowhunters' world. As a Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah is a sworn keeper of the laws and lore of the Nephilim. But once he was a Shadowhunter called Jem Carstairs, and his love, then and always, is the warlock Tessa Gray. And Jem is searching through the Shadow Markets, in many different cities over long years, for a relic from his past. Follow Jem and see, against the backdrop of the Shadow Market's dark dealings and festival, Anna Lightwood's doomed romance, Matthew Fairchild's great sin, and Tessa Gray as she is plunged into a world war. Valentine Morgenstern buys a soul at the Market and a young Jace Wayland's soul finds safe harbor. In the Market is hidden a lost heir and a beloved ghost, and no one can save you once you have traded away your heart. Not even Brother Zachariah. This description comes from the publisher. *Ghosts of the Shadow Market* takes place in the Shadowhunter world, the first book of which is *City of Bones*.

Nine-year-old Grace uncovers the harsh reality of slavery and defies her masters, ultimately escaping with her family into the Dismal Swamp to join other fugitive slaves.

Thirteen‑year‑old Logan moves with his family to a rural Virginia house with a dark secret. Together with his neighbor Arthur, he delves into the past to uncover the truth behind a long‑forgotten murder.

Step back into the Civil War era with Addy Walker, navigating danger, funding soldiers, and searching for family in an interactive, branching adventure.

A ten‑year‑old former slave, Corey Birdsong, becomes a conductor on the Underground Railroad, guiding a mother and daughter to his family's farm in Amherstburg, Ontario, in 1859.

Twelve‑year‑old Diana defies her brother’s warnings, befriends the new caretaker’s daughter, and inadvertently unleashes the vengeful ghost of a former ruler of the old Willis house, turning friendship into supernatural danger.

Anne Rinaldi’s historical novel follows Oney Judge, lifelong servant and slave of Martha Washington, as she confronts her bondage and contemplates escape to actual freedom.

A young African American boy who resents his life as a slave joins the Union Army during the Civil War, proving his courage and skill by leading a mule team when the need arises.

A young boy’s disruptive childhood is transformed when he lives with his stern, affluent grandmother and befriends a wheelchair‑using peer during the World War II era.

A free black boy takes the blame for his brother’s prank, is sold into slavery, and must survive captivity and the Civil War to find his way back home.

In 1849, Chinese American girl Samantha seeks to escape tragedy, disguising herself with runaway slave Annamae as male adventurers on the Oregon Trail toward California’s gold rush.

After his sharecropper father's death leaves his family in debt, twelve‑year‑old Little Charlie follows the brutal overseer Cap’n Buck north to recover stolen money, only to confront the very fugitives he seeks.