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thebooklady_nj's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
skynet666's review
3.0
Ok, I admit it - I only made it through a third of the book. It was good, but not great and I had other books due back to the library. Then when I could have started back up, I chose a different book. So, I guess it wasn't compelling enough for me to finish. It's back at the library for the next reader.
bibliotecabecca's review
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
freshaircure's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
trnolan's review against another edition
4.0
A bit slow at times but otherwise an engaging story that shines brightest when the main characters (Onion and John Brown) are allowed to play off of one another.
erickibler4's review
4.0
This novel looks at abolitionist John Brown through the eyes of "The Onion", a boy slave freed by Brown who is mistaken for a girl and winds up living as a girl throughout his seven year association with Brown. Although The Onion is an invented character, many actual historical people show up in the novel, not only John Brown and his sons, but Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Jeb Stuart, among others.
The style of the book, the way The Onion narrates in a homespun vernacular, is reminiscent of [bc:The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|2956|The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|Mark Twain|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1274410225s/2956.jpg|1835605], to the extent that it's hard to ignore the influence. As such, you expect the book to be as funny. Sometimes it gets close, but it never achieves the level of absurd humor of the Twain novel, although John Brown is, in his way, just as absurd as characters like Pap Finn, the Duke, and the King.
But once you get past the expectations raised by the style, and accept the book on its own terms, it's quite enjoyable. The Onion is something of a coward, though he makes various valiant attempts to redeem himself. And I suppose he does redeem himself, success or not, by putting himself at risk for Brown and his men.
Brown is other-directed, having long conversations with God, while his more down-to-earth compatriots look on. He's unorganized and impulsive, yet people nonetheless follow him, because they believe in his cause.
The biggest eye-opener in the book is the portrayal of Frederick Douglass. I'll just say it's an irreverent look at the man and leave it at that.
I loved the ending, which some might think overly sentimental, but there's something uplifting about Brown's certainty in the success of his cause, even when he faces certain execution. When I read the last fifteen pages, all my reservations about the book (listed below in comments) evaporated.
The style of the book, the way The Onion narrates in a homespun vernacular, is reminiscent of [bc:The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|2956|The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|Mark Twain|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1274410225s/2956.jpg|1835605], to the extent that it's hard to ignore the influence. As such, you expect the book to be as funny. Sometimes it gets close, but it never achieves the level of absurd humor of the Twain novel, although John Brown is, in his way, just as absurd as characters like Pap Finn, the Duke, and the King.
But once you get past the expectations raised by the style, and accept the book on its own terms, it's quite enjoyable. The Onion is something of a coward, though he makes various valiant attempts to redeem himself. And I suppose he does redeem himself, success or not, by putting himself at risk for Brown and his men.
Brown is other-directed, having long conversations with God, while his more down-to-earth compatriots look on. He's unorganized and impulsive, yet people nonetheless follow him, because they believe in his cause.
The biggest eye-opener in the book is the portrayal of Frederick Douglass. I'll just say it's an irreverent look at the man and leave it at that.
I loved the ending, which some might think overly sentimental, but there's something uplifting about Brown's certainty in the success of his cause, even when he faces certain execution. When I read the last fifteen pages, all my reservations about the book (listed below in comments) evaporated.
sbn42's review
5.0
Religious zealotry taken to the extreme.
John Brown's history in Kansas has always fascinated me. With much of the preamble to the Civil War taking place in the area, could his actions have averted the war, or made it more protracted and bloodier, had he been successful.
Starting with the bloody terrorism that went back and forth across the Kansas/Missouri border, this follows Brown's goal of freeing the slaves. It develops into him trying to lead them into an armed insurrection by taking munitions from the armory at Harper's Ferry. Told through the eyes of a young slave that joins and separates from Brown's troop over several intervals, it gives an intimate view that I had not imagined before.
The author does well to place the reader in the dismal life of all involved in the book. It was a very uncomfortable read, but ultimately informative.
John Brown's history in Kansas has always fascinated me. With much of the preamble to the Civil War taking place in the area, could his actions have averted the war, or made it more protracted and bloodier, had he been successful.
Starting with the bloody terrorism that went back and forth across the Kansas/Missouri border, this follows Brown's goal of freeing the slaves. It develops into him trying to lead them into an armed insurrection by taking munitions from the armory at Harper's Ferry. Told through the eyes of a young slave that joins and separates from Brown's troop over several intervals, it gives an intimate view that I had not imagined before.
The author does well to place the reader in the dismal life of all involved in the book. It was a very uncomfortable read, but ultimately informative.
csmithgonzalez's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
encgolsen's review
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
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? Yes
4.25
In this broadly comic account of a tragic story, an enslaved 12-year-old boy is freed by John Brown, mistaken for a girl, and spends the next few years enmeshed in Brown's plans for an uprising to end slavery. Henry, aka Onion, is focused mainly on his own survival and definitely not on heroism. By the inevitable end, his attachment to Brown gives emotional resonance to a death that forced a nation to face its sins.