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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
«They can stop our voices from speaking, but they can’t stop our brains from thinking”
Couldn't put this stunningly beautiful novel-in-verse down. It also taught me a great deal about an aspect of slavery I hadn't previously known about.
very grateful to learn about the great dismal swamp through this captivating narrative
Poetry style is not for me, even with the best efforts of Bahni Turpin.
I came across Unbound during a search for historical fiction depicting the Underground Railroad. After sorting through the stack I brought home from the library, Unbound was my first pick. My hopes were to sort through the list and find one or two that I may put on our class booklist for an upcoming order. And, of course, after the first one I already have one on my list!
I really loved this book because of the choice to tell a story of the slaves who escaped to the Great Dismal Swamps of Virginia rather than traveling north to free states. These people braved the wild of the swamplands and built homes and lives away from society. There is so much power in this story because so often Underground Railroad tales end at reaching freedom in northern states. Often little is said of the continued oppression, segregation, and racism that free blacks faced in the North. By building their own lives in the swamp, the "maroons" built their own community without these harmful, humiliating norms.
Gracie's story gives the reader a firsthand account of the horrors of slavery, but in a way that both honest and reasonable for young readers, which is a difficult line to find. The story is told in beautiful verse that I think young readers will be able to both appreciate and comprehend.
I think kids will love this story and I can't wait to read it with them!
I really loved this book because of the choice to tell a story of the slaves who escaped to the Great Dismal Swamps of Virginia rather than traveling north to free states. These people braved the wild of the swamplands and built homes and lives away from society. There is so much power in this story because so often Underground Railroad tales end at reaching freedom in northern states. Often little is said of the continued oppression, segregation, and racism that free blacks faced in the North. By building their own lives in the swamp, the "maroons" built their own community without these harmful, humiliating norms.
Gracie's story gives the reader a firsthand account of the horrors of slavery, but in a way that both honest and reasonable for young readers, which is a difficult line to find. The story is told in beautiful verse that I think young readers will be able to both appreciate and comprehend.
I think kids will love this story and I can't wait to read it with them!
Stunning fictional escape story from a girl's perspective. Grace, a biracial girl, lives enslaved with her family on a tobacco plantation until they runaway. This story draws on the true stories of those that lived during this time of slavery, on stories of "maroons," and the Great Dismal Swamp.
Superb, gut-wrenching, full of grace.
10+
Superb, gut-wrenching, full of grace.
10+
Pre-read for high school lit. This book is gorgeous. My student wants to be a writer. This is his first novel in verse. He is loving searching for descriptive language and is enjoying(?) the story. It’s hard and heartbreaking but very important.