Waiting for the Queen — Joanna Higgins

Two girls -- one a Pennsylvania Quaker, the other a refugee from the French Revolution -- form an unlikely friendship in this “rewarding” novel (School Library Journal).

Fifteen-year-old Eugenie de La Roque and her family have barely escaped the French Revolution with their lives. Along with several other noble families, they sail to America, where an area that would come to be known as French Azilum is being carved out of the rugged Pennsylvania wilderness. Hannah Kimbrell is a young Quaker who's been chosen to help prepare French Azilum for the arrival of the aristocrats. In this wild place away from home, Eugenie and Hannah seem a mismatched pair -- but find more in common than they first realize. With much to learn from each other, the girls unite to help free several slaves from their tyrannical French owner, a dangerous scheme that requires personal sacrifice in exchange for the slaves' freedom.

A story of friendship against all odds, Waiting for the Queen is a loving portrait of the values of a young America, and a reminder that true nobility is more than a royal title.

“Based on the true story of a group of families who sought asylum in Pennsylvania, this title vividly captures the hardships faced by the teen and her parents as they adjust to a life without luxuries . . . Eugenie's growth as she begins to understand what is really important to her is beautifully and convincingly portrayed.” -- School Library Journal

“The story shifts between Hannah and Eugenie's well-developed and distinct perspectives, both of which strongly reflect their respective upbringings and cultures. A meticulously detailed work of historical fiction about the challenges of the new and unfamiliar, and about looking beyond oneself toward the greater good.” -- Publishers Weekly