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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This is my last book for the library reading for my child's school. I liked this book. Supervising adults should know that there are some descriptions of the violence and sadness families experienced under slavery (nothing sexual, but things like whipping, working while sick, withholding pay, family separation, not knowing the fate of family members, extreme poverty. etc.). The main character is an orphan, cared for by another family (the female figure in that family is not especially warm, but she does care for the main character). This book is set just after legal slavery was ended, but the workers still live in a state of slavery - I think this is a great choice, showing the difference between de jure and de facto slavery during Reconstruction.
The book also introduces an additional ethnic group, the Chinese workers. The author does a nice job of painting the initial doubts and fear on each side of the two groups who work in the fields. This might be a quirk of YA fiction, the pacing of the book, or just how the story went, but I found the reconciliation of the two groups to be a little quicker than seemed realistic. That two young people could make friends, yes; that they could so quickly bring the communities together, maybe not? However, the ways in which the two ethnic groups discover their similarities are very sweet and age-appropriate: stories, food, the loss of being far from ancestral lands, play/music, pets.
The main character, Sugar, also has a friendship with the plantation owner's son, Billy. The two play together and go exploring on the river. I'm not sure I liked this element as much, as the innocence of their friendship always seemed a little fraught to me. To be fair, this was acknowledged in the book because the main character does directly confront Billy about his lack of experience doing the sort of jobs she does, how free he is to leave the plantation, etc. However, while children are innocent, I sometimes felt that this friendship strained the bounds of credulity - during that time, it seemed like a lot for pre-adolescents to cross both color and gender lines. Would this have happened at all? Or happened like this? I don't know, but this is a small quibble. What I liked less was Billy's transformation: he briefly takes to working in the fields alongside the workers and, as a result, the work becomes more humane / bearable. Suddenly, the landowner's family becomes more considerate of their workers. How I wish that this might have been so. That said, there are good people in every era (maybe not ever enough, but some), so if showing Billy's transformation and the changes this brought to his family helps children understand this, then I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. That said, I thought the first half of the book was stronger than the second half.
Would I let my child read this? Absolutely. I would highly recommend this book.
The book also introduces an additional ethnic group, the Chinese workers. The author does a nice job of painting the initial doubts and fear on each side of the two groups who work in the fields. This might be a quirk of YA fiction, the pacing of the book, or just how the story went, but I found the reconciliation of the two groups to be a little quicker than seemed realistic. That two young people could make friends, yes; that they could so quickly bring the communities together, maybe not? However, the ways in which the two ethnic groups discover their similarities are very sweet and age-appropriate: stories, food, the loss of being far from ancestral lands, play/music, pets.
The main character, Sugar, also has a friendship with the plantation owner's son, Billy. The two play together and go exploring on the river. I'm not sure I liked this element as much, as the innocence of their friendship always seemed a little fraught to me. To be fair, this was acknowledged in the book because the main character does directly confront Billy about his lack of experience doing the sort of jobs she does, how free he is to leave the plantation, etc. However, while children are innocent, I sometimes felt that this friendship strained the bounds of credulity - during that time, it seemed like a lot for pre-adolescents to cross both color and gender lines. Would this have happened at all? Or happened like this? I don't know, but this is a small quibble. What I liked less was Billy's transformation: he briefly takes to working in the fields alongside the workers and, as a result, the work becomes more humane / bearable. Suddenly, the landowner's family becomes more considerate of their workers. How I wish that this might have been so. That said, there are good people in every era (maybe not ever enough, but some), so if showing Billy's transformation and the changes this brought to his family helps children understand this, then I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. That said, I thought the first half of the book was stronger than the second half.
Would I let my child read this? Absolutely. I would highly recommend this book.
3.5 stars
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-sugar.html
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-sugar.html
adventurous
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sooooo..
I finished the book in one night :)
This book is so heartwarming. Like, I was using this book as a break from other sad, heavy books I’d been reading, and this one was just perfect.
Sugar, Billy, and Bo? So good. So well written. In fact, every single character in this story is so written. They all feel so real and fleshed out. These tiny details make readers really care about these characters.
As for the plot? CONSTANTLY had me at the edge of my seat. The plot moves just fast enough to where nothing ever is boring/slow. Everything’s paced so well.
This story’s also educational, I think. I’d never known that after the Civil War, Chinese workers were brought to America to work on plantations. I’d honestly had no clue.
Also, I’d like to add that I think this book dealt with the heavy topic of racism and slavery very well. I think it was real enough to where it wasn’t overly sugarcoating things, but it was also easy enough for kids to digest.
This story’s just so well written. I’d recommend this to anyone!
I finished the book in one night :)
This book is so heartwarming. Like, I was using this book as a break from other sad, heavy books I’d been reading, and this one was just perfect.
Sugar, Billy, and Bo? So good. So well written. In fact, every single character in this story is so written. They all feel so real and fleshed out. These tiny details make readers really care about these characters.
As for the plot? CONSTANTLY had me at the edge of my seat. The plot moves just fast enough to where nothing ever is boring/slow. Everything’s paced so well.
This story’s also educational, I think. I’d never known that after the Civil War, Chinese workers were brought to America to work on plantations. I’d honestly had no clue.
Also, I’d like to add that I think this book dealt with the heavy topic of racism and slavery very well. I think it was real enough to where it wasn’t overly sugarcoating things, but it was also easy enough for kids to digest.
This story’s just so well written. I’d recommend this to anyone!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery
Minor: Xenophobia
This was such an enjoyable book to read, and I was very impressed with all that it had to offer to children who will read it. It tells a lesser known part of the history of Reconstruction (the hiring of Chinese migrant workers to plantations after freed slaves moved North). Beyond that, it includes classic tales from the African American vernacular tradition, most importantly the Tar Baby story from the Br'er Rabbit tales. I didn't learn about the Br'er Patch stories until I was in an African American literature class in college, but this book will expose children of all backgrounds to them. It also contains classic Chinese folktales, including the story of how the animals of the Chinese calendar were chosen, and tales about dragons. I loved this book.
hx fic - blacks are free and trying to learn how to live. So too plantation owners; bring in chinese men to work sugar fields in Louisianna. A bit on the rosy side but good story