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southernbellebooks's review against another edition
5.0
This should be required reading. Growing up in the South, we actually read a lot of first hand accounts of slavery and I was always aware of how awful it was. I just never cease to be disgusted by the treatment of the people in this book.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
This book features the personal accounts of ten slaves, all under the age of nineteen. Being enslaved as an adult would a horrific experience, and a huge culture shock, but being a child who is enslaved...I simply cannot imagine. How terrifying to be ripped out of your home, away from everyone you know, separated from your family and enslaved. These accounts were so tragic, but I believe they are very important. We learned about slavery in school, but it was a basic overview. We never really learned about the horrors of being transported on a slave ship in the conditions that people had to endure. We never learned much about the abuse, the beatings and tortures for "crimes" that were supposedly committed. When we did learn about slaves being whipped, it was certainly not mentioned that children our own ages or younger were subjected to such treatment. People always consider that it is important to have the accounts of the Holocaust and other atrocities for future generations to learn from, but it is not often mentioned that accounts from former enslaved persons are also important. I found this book to be very valuable in growing my perception of life experiences of enslaved people and that time period.
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