Freewater

Name: Freewater
Brand: Hachette Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Amina Luqman-Dawson
ISBN: 9781549163357

Author: Amina Luqman-Dawson

Narrator: Cary Hite, Sisi Aisha Johnson

Unabridged: 9 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson

Published: 02/01/2022

Categories: Children's Fiction, Action & Adventure Stories, Historical Stories, African American & Black Stories, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

Debut author Amina Luqman-Dawson pens a lyrical, accessible historical middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom.

Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.

In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home.

Deeply inspiring and loosely based on the history of maroon communities in the South, this is a striking tale of survival, adventure, friendship, and courage.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Hope on February 14, 2022

Well this is going to be a book I push in everyone's face. Hard to imagine another middle grade book topping it for me this year. Absolutely stellar in every way.......more

Goodreads review by Melissa on February 02, 2023

The premise of Freewater is terrific: An enslaved mother, son and daughter flee to a swampland haven of free blacks. When the family is separated and captured the two children must find their way and adapt to the entirely different world of liberty, self determination and initiative that the free co......more

Goodreads review by Meredith on February 17, 2022

Freewater is historical fiction at its best. The characters are complex and fully realized. Homer's 'invisibility," and his growth as he learns about the maroon community and discovers his own worth is so well done. THe author illustrates resistance to oppression with the use of her young protagonis......more

Goodreads review by Krista on March 23, 2023

I enjoyed listening to this one. Maybe there were just too many characters and perspectives, because I never fully connected to them. And there was one who really got on my nerves. But the story overall was interesting. I am giving this a 3.5.......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on February 27, 2023

This book was almost too intense. Too many of the characters seemed to have a very cavalier attitude towards safety- their own, and others- or a very poor understanding of danger! As a mom and an adult, I spent the whole book feeling tense and uneasy. The ending was perfect, though, and this is a pa......more

Quotes

“In Freewater, Amina Luqman Dawson shines a bright light on a little-known piece of history. Set against a forbidding landscape, the bright promise of freedom is illuminated in all its myriad shapes and forms. And it couldn’t be more timely. Solidly researched and beautifully written, this is storytelling at its finest. Dawson’s voice and the voices of her cast will linger long after the last page is closed.”
—Kathi Appelt, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor Winner

"A compelling, gripping story told in an imaginative and lyrical way, Freewater is a moving, powerful homage to the men, women, and children who rejected slavery and dared invent a free life in the American wilderness."—Dr. Sylviane A. Diouf, author of Slavery's Exiles: The Story of the American Maroons

"What a gorgeously told, thrilling, and deeply empowering story. Amina brings to life so vividly this important but overlooked chapter in history, in a way that all readers can relate to — and through the eyes of young characters so compelling you'll miss them when you put the book down. Not that you'll want to put it down, even for a second."
—Meena Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“With both stirring emotion and apparently effortless skill, Dawson braids the many compelling strands of this story into a stunning conclusion. A remarkable accomplishment—a sheer triumph of a book.”
—Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal winner and New York Times bestselling author

"This is detailed and well-researched historical fiction. The characters are varied, complex, and fully realized. . . .The page-turning action will engage readers as the story reaches a satisfying conclusion. An exceptional addition to the resistance stories of enslaved people."

—Kirkus, starred review