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gkaltam's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, and Violence
greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I valued this story a lot. The books about slavery I read are usually focused on the US, so it was good to expand my horizons here and read about the Caribbean. The writing was truly beautiful, quiet and painful. It reminded me of "Homegoing" (Gyasi) and "Roots" (Haley), though I will say I enjoyed both of those books more. I loved Rachel's determination, her journey, and her reflections on suffering one chooses and how it emboldens you, versus the suffering one is subjected to and how it wears you down. I also really valued the examination of what "freedom" really means, in both a legal sense and a larger, more ideological sense. I think we're still examining this question every day.
It feels very wrong to call a book this full of trauma and suffering "serendipitous," but to me it was at least a bit too serendipitous in that Rachel was able to either find out find out what happened to all of her children, despite hopping between islands of thousands of people. It relied a little too much on convenience and while I don't think it was necessarily a happy story or a happy ending, it was a farfetched to me that she was able to have so much closure - even if it was also a peaceful thing to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cc_shelflove's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This story was very good, but at times it was obvious it was written by a debut author. A sad, sad story—we follow Rachel, a slave who escapes her plantation in Barbados with a goal of finding her five children who were sold away at young ages. The book had the same sense of adventure as American Dirt without the grit, anger, and heart pounding action. I felt satisfied by the book’s ending but I was not moved to tears. Still a solid Book of the Month selection!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Abandonment
2treads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Shearer has written a story that I consider a reclaiming. A story that burrows its way into your heart and psyche as Rachel searches for her children. This is a reclaiming for all our enslaved ancestors whose children were taken away from them, but who they would never forget.
It is poignant in its rendering of Rachel's determination, her insecurity, and her unrelenting desire as a mother to know and understand her children's own stories, how they survived, and the freedom they chose.
As a part of our fraught and violent history, Shearer writes with a powerful tenderness, focusing on a mother's journey and fears, her strength and losses as a result of slavery, and even though she makes clear how brutal Slavery was, it never takes from the tenderness and love of this story.
But what I loved the most about this book was her depiction of each of these characters defining freedom for themselves and moving to live that freedom their way, as well as how choice was at the forefront for Rachel and her children.
It is poignant in its rendering of Rachel's determination, her insecurity, and her unrelenting desire as a mother to know and understand her children's own stories, how they survived, and the freedom they chose.
As a part of our fraught and violent history, Shearer writes with a powerful tenderness, focusing on a mother's journey and fears, her strength and losses as a result of slavery, and even though she makes clear how brutal Slavery was, it never takes from the tenderness and love of this story.
But what I loved the most about this book was her depiction of each of these characters defining freedom for themselves and moving to live that freedom their way, as well as how choice was at the forefront for Rachel and her children.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Pregnancy