Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's UK
Released: 27th of April 2023
Enslaved on a plantation in Barbados, Obah dreams of freedom. As talk of rebellion bubbles up around her in the Big House, she imagines escape. Meeting a strange boy who’s not quite of this world, she decides to put her trust in him. But Jacob is from the twenty-first century. Desperate to give Obah a better life, he takes her back with him. At first it seems like dreams really do come true – until the cracks begin to show and Obah sees that freedom comes at an unimaginable cost . . .
Both hopeful and devastating, this powerful novel about equality, how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go introduces an extraordinary new literary voice.
What I Have to Say
This book had a lot to say and it really makes you think about the way things are. Don't be put off by the narrative voice, Obah talks in a pidgin type dialect and it takes a couple of chapters to get used to, but you do get used to it. I really grew to like the way she talked over the course of the novel.
Obah's character in general was really good. She was a really sweet girl who just wanted to run and be free. She was the perfect character to use as a viewpoint to get across the books messages, that we still have a long way to go to get equal rights, but it is worth standing up and fighting for.
The ending of the novel was a bit all over the place though. There was a lot of back and forth between the present day and the past while Obah had to learn the things she needed to know. I would have liked it to have been more straightforward.
I do think this is a really worthwhile read.
