レビュー要約

• 重い歴史を扱いながらも、逃走劇としての緊張感と共同体の温かさがある点が支持されている。暴力の重さを曖昧にせず、自由と抵抗を子どもの視点で力強く描くところに評価が集まる。

レビュー

• 英語の勉強にも、物語そのものでも、オススメの1冊。

  プランテーションから逃亡した12歳の黒人少年ホーマーと7歳の妹エイダは、逃亡した黒人が湿地帯の深い森の中に作ったコミュニティに匿われます。そして、そこでできた友達と、逃げる途中でプランテーションに戻らざるを得なかった母親を助けに向かいます。ホーマーをはじめひとりひとりの子どもは決して際立ったリーダーやヒーローではないですが、それぞれに個性またはクセのある子たちが力を合わせて困難に立ち向かいます。アメリカ南部の黒人奴隷の歴史に題材を得、そこから子ども向けの（でも、もちろん大人が読んでも十分に面白く読み応えのある）ストーリを上手に描いています。この黒人コミュニティの設定も冒険心をくすぐるものです。ニューベリー賞を取った作品なので、おそらくそのうち邦訳が出ると思いますが、英語の勉強で読むのにも十分適した語彙や文章のレベルなので、翻訳書が出る前に原著を読んでしまうのも良いです。

• Writing her very first novel, Amina Luqman-Dawson has created a genuine masterpiece of young adult fiction that richly deserves the very high honors it has won, namely the Newbery and Coretta Scott King Medals. The sense of respect for the multiple narrators is wonderful. They are never referred to as slaves. Rather, they are collectively known as enslaved souls. One of the highlights of Freewater is that most of the chapters are revealed by young people as the predominant voices. Young readers will easily identify with these heroes. The narrative reads like a thriller. It is hard not to cheat and jump to the final chapters to discover the heroic outcome of the chief protagonists. Freewater will engross adult readers as well as young adults. Readers learn a lot about Maroon Communities, both in the past and even into the present. These miraculous free communities existed not only in the American South but in the Caribbean and in South America, especially in Brazil. Many readers have been educated to know about the Underground Railroad and flights to freedom in the North and in Canada by enslaved souls, but many readers will learn about such havens as Freewater for the first time. The author provides a highly informative afterword, but young historians will want to combine reading the novel Freewater with Internet searches. Freewater opens the eyes of readers in so many, many ways. The lyrical text is magical. This is a classic for the ages. It is a genuine masterpiece.

• In that the pages are exposed because the front cover is 1 cm short (to display some gloating endorsement of the text).

• Just got this book. Only part way in and I already know it will be an all time favorite book. It’s a bit like Harry Potter in that it will be enjoyed as a read aloud book, as a independent reading book for middle grade and also by adults. Like HP, the characters just worm their way into your thoughts and heart. The writing is absolutely beautiful and lyrical. The book humanizes enslaved persons and particularly enslaved children. As the dedication says, it gives voice to generations of enslaved children. How fitting. It’s also an adventure book sprinkled with historical facts. While it doesn’t shy away from the realities of slavery, it weaves a magical tale that draws you in and you will fall in love with the children who have escaped enslavement, you will marvel at their resilience and you will cheer as they discover that they really do matter. If you watch the video, you can literally hear the author’s soft, kind soul and you will feel that presence as you read the words that weave together this wonderful book. Every school should have this book on its reading lists.

• My kid loved the book. This was his first book he’s ever read regarding anything about the slavery era; and it wasn’t overwhelming for him.

• I enjoyed this middle grade historical fiction look at slavery. I learned a lot about the free swamp communities. However, I feel that the book is too long. I am a middle school librarian, and I don’t have many students that will tackle such a lengthy book.

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