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A review by aundie27
Unbound: A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg
3.0
Plot
Pale skinned, blue eyed Grace doesn't look like the other slaves, her mama in particular. She wants beautiful skin and features like her community. But, because of her pale skin [and possible patronage], she is taken to the big house to work in the kitchen. She learns not to question anything while missing her mother and brothers terribly. When Grace oversteps, she learns that the Master and Missus are going to get rid of a slave--but whom? Grace is scared, and she and her family run, seeking shelter in the swamp nearby.
Review
This is not an "own voices" story, but the author has an interest in slavery and black culture, as shown by the awards this has won and Serafina's Promise. In the audiobook it is not apparent that the book is told in verse--it just sounds like a regular story. The audiobook narrator does voices for the black characters, but in particular with the Missus she has no accent despite the time and Southern setting. That just always bothers me... She did also narrate The Help which had similar issues but with the author's writing of the dialogue.
Sigh, I just want some black kid adventures that I could have enjoyed as a kid, but there's nothing particularly different or unique from any other slave story [aside from the swamp escape].
Pale skinned, blue eyed Grace doesn't look like the other slaves, her mama in particular. She wants beautiful skin and features like her community. But, because of her pale skin [and possible patronage], she is taken to the big house to work in the kitchen. She learns not to question anything while missing her mother and brothers terribly. When Grace oversteps, she learns that the Master and Missus are going to get rid of a slave--but whom? Grace is scared, and she and her family run, seeking shelter in the swamp nearby.
Review
This is not an "own voices" story, but the author has an interest in slavery and black culture, as shown by the awards this has won and Serafina's Promise. In the audiobook it is not apparent that the book is told in verse--it just sounds like a regular story. The audiobook narrator does voices for the black characters, but in particular with the Missus she has no accent despite the time and Southern setting. That just always bothers me... She did also narrate The Help which had similar issues but with the author's writing of the dialogue.
Sigh, I just want some black kid adventures that I could have enjoyed as a kid, but there's nothing particularly different or unique from any other slave story [aside from the swamp escape].