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kitsuneheart's review against another edition
5.0
A story told with interspersed "interviews" from those who attended the largest slave auction in U.S. history. We hear from the auctioned slaves, their owner, his children, and a few other parties, including one man who risked everything to help bring slaves to freedom across the Ohio River.
This is structured in such a way that it could be turned into a great play, but probably best for a very mature high school or college crew. The biggest hurdle to putting it on stage is the language, but that is also one of the best aspects of the book. And by "language," I mean frequent use of the N-word. At the beginning of the book, hearing it made me flinch, but by the end, it had been used so much that I'd stopped reacting. Not that the word had been normalized, but it was instead one of the most effective means Lester uses to show the villains of the story.
If your child is reading this, be prepared for some serious discussions, and perhaps some comfort food. It packs a punch, but that is all to its credit. Lester decided his audience needed to hear as much of the truth as they could stand, and he told it with beautiful, if often heartbreaking language.
This is structured in such a way that it could be turned into a great play, but probably best for a very mature high school or college crew. The biggest hurdle to putting it on stage is the language, but that is also one of the best aspects of the book. And by "language," I mean frequent use of the N-word. At the beginning of the book, hearing it made me flinch, but by the end, it had been used so much that I'd stopped reacting. Not that the word had been normalized, but it was instead one of the most effective means Lester uses to show the villains of the story.
If your child is reading this, be prepared for some serious discussions, and perhaps some comfort food. It packs a punch, but that is all to its credit. Lester decided his audience needed to hear as much of the truth as they could stand, and he told it with beautiful, if often heartbreaking language.
mbhoppe13's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
coffeesearcher's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
wlingle78's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lauraxbakker's review against another edition
5.0
I remember one time when Sarah, my oldest girl, told me that in one of her books it said a picture is worth a thousand words. I told her whoever wrote that didn't know very much. When I think back on slavery and all what happened that day when God cried, couldn't no picture make you feel what it was like. Maybe a picture could show you the train, but that picture couldn't make you feel how thick and heavy the air was and how hard it was to breathe. That picture couldn't make you feel how our skin was covered with a sweat that was like grease that had been used too many times to fry a chicken in. If you had a picture of the dining room that morning you would see a long table covered with a white cloth, the china place settings and silverware and Master, the slave-seller, and Master's two daughters seated around the table. You'd see me and Mama going back and forth bringing in the breakfast of grits, fried apples, pancakes, syrup, sausage, and coffee. But you wouldn't smell the odors from everyone's bodies. That picture wouldn't let you smell the mold coming from the walls. You'd see me and mama in that picture and we would look like we wasn't feeling a thing.
That picture would be a lie.
This book is absolutely incredible! This book is an historical recreation, which is I think a new (sub)genre for me. This book was absolutely incredible. The story itself, is heartbreaking and the way that it has been written is beautiful. The fact that it has been written as dialogue was easy to read, which in my opinion was great because the subject was so intense.
Julius Lester made this such a great, great book and the way he used the words to describe everything absolutely blew me away.
That picture would be a lie.
This book is absolutely incredible! This book is an historical recreation, which is I think a new (sub)genre for me. This book was absolutely incredible. The story itself, is heartbreaking and the way that it has been written is beautiful. The fact that it has been written as dialogue was easy to read, which in my opinion was great because the subject was so intense.
Julius Lester made this such a great, great book and the way he used the words to describe everything absolutely blew me away.
madmik's review against another edition
2.0
I do not think I loved this book as much as my peers did. I'm not a fan of books written in this style, no matter the subject. Dialogue alone bores me, and the story wasn't interesting to me. I found the rain metaphor, while effective, also way overdone. It became redundant and I started rolling my eyes every time I saw it pop up (which I felt bad doing since this is about slavery.......). It just seems...far too cheesy for my tastes. I couldn't take it seriously.
I don't think I'd recommend this to anyone. I can't think of an age group or person who would particularly enjoy this book at all.
Warnings:
- slavery
- violence
- some cursing
- aggressive use of metaphors
I don't think I'd recommend this to anyone. I can't think of an age group or person who would particularly enjoy this book at all.
Warnings:
- slavery
- violence
- some cursing
- aggressive use of metaphors
jwinchell's review against another edition
5.0
Excruciating, important, outstanding. This is everything I love about historical fiction. The underground railroad came to life for me through this outstanding "novel in dialogue."
It would make a great read aloud and there's lots of space for common core-friendly non-fiction tie-ins--especially all the references Lester lists.
This is a must read.
It would make a great read aloud and there's lots of space for common core-friendly non-fiction tie-ins--especially all the references Lester lists.
This is a must read.
cocainebear's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
This fictional account of the largest slave auction ever held is based on a true event with real characters.
Brief sections are told from the viewpoint of different characters: The master, slave seller, slaves, and slave buyers all have a chance to speak.
The back matter provides links to books and websites detailing the true story, one book in particular was a diary written by the ex-wife of the master. She was a former English actress, Fannie Kemble, and an abolitionist. When she married Pierce Butler she did not know that he would inherit the 2nd largest slave plantation in America. Their marriage began to crumble around the slavery issue.
This story presents clearly all the pain and injustice of slavery and would be perfect for middle grade readers looking to supplement a Civil War unit.
Brief sections are told from the viewpoint of different characters: The master, slave seller, slaves, and slave buyers all have a chance to speak.
The back matter provides links to books and websites detailing the true story, one book in particular was a diary written by the ex-wife of the master. She was a former English actress, Fannie Kemble, and an abolitionist. When she married Pierce Butler she did not know that he would inherit the 2nd largest slave plantation in America. Their marriage began to crumble around the slavery issue.
This story presents clearly all the pain and injustice of slavery and would be perfect for middle grade readers looking to supplement a Civil War unit.
hywar's review against another edition
4.0
This was an absolutely fantastic read! I had trouble putting the book down right from the start. Julius Lester does a great job of switching perspectives and skipping around on the timeline without getting readers lost. Though the subject matter is dark and grim, the book was still an absolute pleasure to read. Highly engaging and a great book to add onto any unit about slavery or racism!