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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Times are changing. What could life have been like after emancipation? I like these characters and how they become family.
YA book. Sugar is a 10 year-old ex-slave on the plantation she was born, an orphan, cared for by the elders, also ex-slaves, who are the only ones left to do the work. She befriends the plantation owner’s son Billy and his father brings Chinamen to work the sugar. A sweet, emotional book.
Learn about the post-Civil War south, on the plantations, inter-cultural relations, myths of African Americans and Chinese.
Learn about the post-Civil War south, on the plantations, inter-cultural relations, myths of African Americans and Chinese.
Sugar is about the life of an orphaned black girl in the South just after the end of slavery - when former slaves were being held in wage slavery. I enjoyed the book, but thought the journey was a bit emotionally simple for such a complex topic, even for young readers. I think it will tie in well with a background day on civil rights for late elementary.
A very quick read about the South post civil war in the reconstruction era. It was a great story about a young girl working on a sugar plantation when new workers come into the picture, how they act together and eventually form a family. Rated lower than I'd like, only because I felt the ending was unfinished since they didn't make it anywhere.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
This book was unfortunately a slog to get through. I had high expectations due to the author’s other award-winning books, especially having received a Coretta Scott King Award. These expectations were not met. I wanted to like this book, but it was impossible.
Pros:
* This book does a good job of painting the image of working a sugar plantation.
* It shines a light on the struggles during Reconstruction and how rural post-slavery life in the South wasn’t that different from life under slavery.
* The story frames a little-told piece of history of the importing of Chinese laborers to the South. Most stories of Chinese sugar workers are set in Hawaii, so this was unique.
Cons:
* The writing was insufferable. There was very little variation in the rhythm and format of sentences, making it often feel like a Dick and Jane vs. a middle grade book.
* One note dialogue. Following the lack of variety in sentence structure, sentences were repeatedly written as though the author was being charged per word, as if in a telegram. Sentences would frequently be without subjects or conjunctions—over and over again. I am all for playful writing, and this can really have an impact when used lightly. These sentences were used ad nauseam. It could almost be acceptable if used only in narration, but almost every character spoke this way. It was unrealistic to have every single character speaking with the same vocal affectations.
* Asian trope dialogue. This was the most disappointing aspect of a CSK Award winner’s writing. The Chinese characters were often written speaking with stereotypical/prejudicial Chinese “immigrant speak.” Its use felt really dated and in poor taste. One could make the argument that non-native English speakers are bound to trip over the words and English grammar at the beginning, but the patterns were inconsistent within the characters’ own dialogue. A word known in one sentence wouldn’t be known in the next. There would be a complex sentence followed by one that read like from a parody. It wasn’t handled well.
*Unlikeable characters. There are very few likable characters in the story, including Sugar. It is painful to be with her through the story. She is ten, and in a time where you would expect her to be older than her years, she often acts five. In reading this aloud, my children were shocked at her age because of how often she throws absolute tantrums.
Pros:
* This book does a good job of painting the image of working a sugar plantation.
* It shines a light on the struggles during Reconstruction and how rural post-slavery life in the South wasn’t that different from life under slavery.
* The story frames a little-told piece of history of the importing of Chinese laborers to the South. Most stories of Chinese sugar workers are set in Hawaii, so this was unique.
Cons:
* The writing was insufferable. There was very little variation in the rhythm and format of sentences, making it often feel like a Dick and Jane vs. a middle grade book.
* One note dialogue. Following the lack of variety in sentence structure, sentences were repeatedly written as though the author was being charged per word, as if in a telegram. Sentences would frequently be without subjects or conjunctions—over and over again. I am all for playful writing, and this can really have an impact when used lightly. These sentences were used ad nauseam. It could almost be acceptable if used only in narration, but almost every character spoke this way. It was unrealistic to have every single character speaking with the same vocal affectations.
* Asian trope dialogue. This was the most disappointing aspect of a CSK Award winner’s writing. The Chinese characters were often written speaking with stereotypical/prejudicial Chinese “immigrant speak.” Its use felt really dated and in poor taste. One could make the argument that non-native English speakers are bound to trip over the words and English grammar at the beginning, but the patterns were inconsistent within the characters’ own dialogue. A word known in one sentence wouldn’t be known in the next. There would be a complex sentence followed by one that read like from a parody. It wasn’t handled well.
*Unlikeable characters. There are very few likable characters in the story, including Sugar. It is painful to be with her through the story. She is ten, and in a time where you would expect her to be older than her years, she often acts five. In reading this aloud, my children were shocked at her age because of how often she throws absolute tantrums.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery
recommended to me by a 12yr old. It's pretty good. I'm more excited by her liking it than I am by my reading of it, really. I am grateful to hear that elementary school kids get handed books about reconstruction, though, which is a deeply under-taught, misunderstood era. America hates a gray area, and the liminal space between enslavement and freedom is a preeeettty big one.
Sugar's comes from a family of slaves. Her father was sold off before the Civil War and even after the war her mother refused to leave the plantation in hopes that he would come back to them. But he hasn't. Then Sugar's mother dies. Now Sugar is by herself on the plantation with the other former slaves who have stayed to work. Unfortunately, it is mainly the older slaves who are tired and didn't think they could resettle somewhere else. Change is hard. The overseer doesn't want to accept that the workers are no longer slaves, the plantation owner still needs to make a profit, and Billy, the plantation owner's son just wants to be friends with Sugar. In an attempt to boost production, the plantation owner hires some Chinese workers. Together they all learn important lessons about friendship, acceptance, and change,
I really enjoyed this book. I had never heard that Chinese workers were used during Reconstruction. It was a fascinating look at the changes that started to occur during that time and how the children led some of that change.
I really enjoyed this book. I had never heard that Chinese workers were used during Reconstruction. It was a fascinating look at the changes that started to occur during that time and how the children led some of that change.
In 1870, slavery had already been abolished in the U.S. But many people who were formerly enslaved didn't have the means or the motivation to go north in search of other opportunities, and so they continued on in the only life they had ever known, living in the same shacks they lived in as slaves, and working for the same man who owned them as slaves. Sugar is a 10-year-old girl who lives and works with other formerly enslaved people on the River Road sugar cane plantation in Louisiana.
With a good number of formerly enslaved workers leaving the plantation, Mister Wills, the owner, decides to hire Chinese workers to address the labor shortage. The original River Road folks are anxious, afraid they will lose their jobs to the Chinese workers.
Sugar has the open-hearted, open-minded wisdom of a child, and she doesn't understand why she isn't allowed to play with Billy Wills, the owner's son with whom she gets along splendidly. She also doesn't understand why she isn't supposed to befriend the new Chinese workers, who fascinate her.
Admittedly, I felt a bit wary going into this book. On the one hand, the Chinese people were referred to as "Chinamen" - a derogatory term - and their queue-styled hair and Eastern-styled clothing marked them as "different". Would this book reinforce the "perpetual other" stereotype of Asians? Yet, back then, Chinese people really were completely unknown to many Americans, and the use of "Chinamen" is historically accurate. In the end, I think the author did a good job portraying the Chinese workers as different, but not "exotic"; just people, like everyone else, working hard for a living. About half-way through the book, Sugar learns to say "Chinese" instead of "Chinamen", but I'm not sure it was effectively made known that "Chinamen" is actually offensive, and using "Chinese" is not just a matter of preference.
Sugar and Billy, together with "Beau" - the youngest Chinese worker - eventually bring together the River Road community so that everyone understands everyone else just a little better.
I really enjoyed this story, and its peek into a little-known part of U.S. history. I gave this book just shy of 5 stars because the short, matter-of-fact sentences eventually became tiresome and choppy, though they started out as a simple way to convey Sugar's childlike thinking.
With a good number of formerly enslaved workers leaving the plantation, Mister Wills, the owner, decides to hire Chinese workers to address the labor shortage. The original River Road folks are anxious, afraid they will lose their jobs to the Chinese workers.
Sugar has the open-hearted, open-minded wisdom of a child, and she doesn't understand why she isn't allowed to play with Billy Wills, the owner's son with whom she gets along splendidly. She also doesn't understand why she isn't supposed to befriend the new Chinese workers, who fascinate her.
Admittedly, I felt a bit wary going into this book. On the one hand, the Chinese people were referred to as "Chinamen" - a derogatory term - and their queue-styled hair and Eastern-styled clothing marked them as "different". Would this book reinforce the "perpetual other" stereotype of Asians? Yet, back then, Chinese people really were completely unknown to many Americans, and the use of "Chinamen" is historically accurate. In the end, I think the author did a good job portraying the Chinese workers as different, but not "exotic"; just people, like everyone else, working hard for a living. About half-way through the book, Sugar learns to say "Chinese" instead of "Chinamen", but I'm not sure it was effectively made known that "Chinamen" is actually offensive, and using "Chinese" is not just a matter of preference.
Sugar and Billy, together with "Beau" - the youngest Chinese worker - eventually bring together the River Road community so that everyone understands everyone else just a little better.
I really enjoyed this story, and its peek into a little-known part of U.S. history. I gave this book just shy of 5 stars because the short, matter-of-fact sentences eventually became tiresome and choppy, though they started out as a simple way to convey Sugar's childlike thinking.