Freewater. Amina Luqman-Dawson. 2022. 416 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: Sanzi had broken yet another rule, but she didn't care.
Premise/plot: Freewater is the 2023 Newbery Award Winner. This historical novel has alternating narrators. Homer and Ada, two of our narrators, are runaway slaves; they are running for their lives, running towards freedom. They stumble into a swampy civilization comprised of former slaves and freeborn. Their community--their society--is unique. There are always those on the outside guarding the community within. Danger lurks--in general from white communities looking to chop down trees or claim/reclaim swamp lands, from those hunting slaves, from slave-hunting dogs.
The Southerland Plantation is the plantation Homer and Ada are running from. They left behind their mother and their friend(s). The novel also includes perspectives/voices from those--white and black--still on the plantation.
My thoughts: The subject is a heavy one for sure. It is not particularly "fun" and "enjoyable" to read about slaves, former slaves, etc. But reading doesn't always have to be fun nor enjoyable. Some books exist for the purpose of education or instruction. Or perhaps in this case to build empathy and understanding.
Would I have personally enjoyed this one more if there were fewer voices? fewer narrators? Perhaps. It's definitely possible. When the cast of characters is large, when there are so many voices, so many stories, so much going on with each character...it can be more difficult to connect and stay connected with the narrative as a whole. While I cared--in general--about what happened and if the community would be safe and continue to thrive, I didn't care as much about individuals telling the story. So I wanted to keep reading because of needing closure in general, but not because I was so invested in one person's story that I had to keep turning pages.
I am glad overall that I read this one.
© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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