Reviews

When the Slave Esperança Garcia Wrote a Letter by Jane Springer, Sonia Rosa, Luciana Justiniana Hees

erine's review against another edition

4.0

So short, so beautiful. It's hard to create a meaningful review around a narrative that only slightly enhances the single fact in the story: this woman wrote a letter to the governor protesting her treatment as a slave. We don't know what happened to her or if she ever received a reply, and much of the story itself is educated guesswork. All that being said, however, even the slim facts are fascinating and inspire further thought about what may have happened to this woman, and how incredible and sad her situation would have been.

beths0103's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to like this book more than I did but the strange shift from third to first person and then back to third again was distracting and felt like the kind of inconsistency you'd find in a middle schooler's writing. I didn't understand the intention at all.

turrean's review against another edition

4.0

At first reading I was completely taken aback by the fact that the letter that is the crux of the story never receives a response. The letter itself is a remarkable piece of history; a window into another time. It was so narratively unsatisfying not to know the end of the letter writer's story.

But on the other hand, her plight was REAL. And real life was, is, will be sometimes pretty damn narratively unsatisfying.

jshettel's review against another edition

5.0

A fascinating story about a Brazilian slave woman who wrote a letter of petition protesting her working conditions and being separated by her family to the governor. A "little known story" from history. Great tie-in to Critical Literacy and the power of reading/writing.