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Reading age
10+
Genre
Historical fiction
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
February 1, 2022
A 12-year-old boy and his sister have reached their freedom but don’t feel whole without their mother.
Homer and his sister, Ada, have reached beyond the boundaries of the plantation they were once bound to. Homer and Ada are lost until someone finds them. The man’s name is Suleman, and he leads them to safety in a secret community called Freewater. It’s all fun and games in Freewater, but Homer wants to find a way to show his mother the path to freedom. Will he succeed?
Unlike any other book I’ve read about the era of enslaved people, this gripping story explored the remote communities that enslaved people created in the deep south. It was a new part of History I learned. It was the maroon communities that inspired the book. Those communities were formed in the deep swamps—a fantastic read about their development.
Homer is a responsible big brother. He is good to his sister and always thinks about his mother. Ada is very imaginative. She always asks the wackiest questions.
A gripping and moving debut middle-grade historical fiction at its best.
My rating
