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afro75's review against another edition
4.0
Controlling your own narrative and writing your own story are two big themes in Unbound. Slavery is a system that kept people legally and mentally bound for years. One young slave can't help but question a system that forces her to forsake suspend her own sense of right and wrong to survive. When she learns about her master's plan to divide her family, she must use every ounce of courage to plan a dangerous escape. This book is a relatively quick read and a good choice for historical fiction. The word choices might be problematic, but overall it's a good read.
book_beat's review against another edition
4.0
“Outside, the stars is still danglin in the purple darkness- not a trail of ladle stars, but loose stars, runaway stars, stars too stubborn to disappear.” — UNBOUND.
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UNBOUND is a middle grade novel in verse about young Grace and her family who live as slaves on a plantation. The story is set in the south, pre-Civil War. Ann E. Burg’s novel shines light on a specific community of runaway slaves, called the maroons. They lived in the Great Dismal Swamp in VA and NC.
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I fell hard for Grace and her tenacity. She is fierce, questioning, and loyal to her family. She knows her worth and fights for her freedom with unbelievable bravery. Burg’s prose is fresh and lyrical. I loved this story and highly recommend it. I’m eager to read the rest of her books!
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UNBOUND is a middle grade novel in verse about young Grace and her family who live as slaves on a plantation. The story is set in the south, pre-Civil War. Ann E. Burg’s novel shines light on a specific community of runaway slaves, called the maroons. They lived in the Great Dismal Swamp in VA and NC.
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I fell hard for Grace and her tenacity. She is fierce, questioning, and loyal to her family. She knows her worth and fights for her freedom with unbelievable bravery. Burg’s prose is fresh and lyrical. I loved this story and highly recommend it. I’m eager to read the rest of her books!
achenaille's review against another edition
3.0
Written in verse from the viewpoint of a young slave girl, we follow her family through a series of months and how they are treated and escape to the wilds of a nearby swamp. The terror of the swamp is nothing compared to the knowledge of their freedom.
Historical fiction/poetry
Grades 4-6
Historical fiction/poetry
Grades 4-6
darnellrancifer's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely loved the story of Grace and her family’s escape to freedom. The fact that the story is told in poetry/verse makes the plot more intoxicating. There were points in the novel where I was so invested from the suspense of the verse I couldn’t put it down. It is never too much or too little detail. The author does a great job exposing a little known aspect of slavery, the Maroon people. I want to learn more!
vasiljul000's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book I have read by Ann E. Burg and I am just as pleased as I was with the first book. Unbound follows Grace, the enslaved protagonist, and her journey of working on a plantation in the big house, away from her family. She finds that her mother and brothers will be auctioned off and runs away to her family, escaping the clutches of enslavement. They join a community in the swamp and face constant threat of being captured again. Grace explores what "freedom" really means. This book will tug at your heartstrings and maybe even bring a tear to your eye.
maren_hemsath's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
maddyb8c58c's review against another edition
4.0
This book was really good for me I feel like it deals with an important topic and I feel like I loved that it was written in verse I feel like it really suited the book well. I also feel like the author addresses the seriousness when they got to the destination and how the kids felt about it all. Even though it wasn't written from multiple peoples point of view I think that you honestly got everyone's opinion on almost everything. I really like it and I hope you will too because I feel like this author did a really good job and deserves more recognition.
katiebowers's review against another edition
5.0
This is spoiler-y, so skip if you prefer: this is a quick, lyrical read about an enslaved family’s run to freedom with a happy ending and no deaths. Grace is 9-years-old when she overhears her enslaver’s plans to sell her mother and young brothers, prompting her to push her family out the door to freedom. They land in a vast swamp in an area in Virginia and North Carolina that is home to many Indigenous peoples and maroons - formerly enslaved Black people - who live their lives totally separate from the society that tried to enslave and kill them. It’s not a group of people that we learn much about in literature or history in the U.S., and this felt like a very intriguing introduction that could pique interest in learning more for some young readers (and adult readers, too, because I feel the need to go down a wiki rabbit hole on some of the events in the book!). I don’t think I’ve read a freedom story before that wasn’t a fleeing-for-the-North narrative, and I’m now really interested to read more.
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
4.0
Brings sting emotion with the verse and tells a string story.