Saturday, 23 March 2024

Journey Back to Freedom by Catherine Johnson (Children's, 9 years +, 8/10E)

 

September 2022, Barrington Stoke, 120 pages, Reading Age 8, 9 years +, Review copy 

Summary from Barrington Stoke

Aged only eleven, Olaudah Equiano was cruelly snatched away from his home in Africa and sold into slavery. He spent much of the next ten years at sea, travelling to the far corners of the globe, witnessing horrendous cruelty and occasional kindness, experiencing daring adventures and extreme peril. Throughout it all, he never gave up hope that one day he would be free again. But little did he imagine that the story of his remarkable life would become a bestselling book and help the cause to abolish slavery.

Nayu's thoughts

I think I knew the story when I received it for review, but I forgot, saw the pretty cover and dived in thinking it's a happy tale. I didn't get past chapter one. These days I struggle with reality stories, and I knew this wasn't for me. I've read Catherine's books in the past so know the tale will be a good one. I peeked at the end and it is happy but I just can't cope with all the middle bits knowing it's based on reality. I still wanted to feature it because Catherine is a brilliant author, plus the cover by Katie Hickey is stunning. So check it out if you like this kind of historical based read! There are the usual Barrington Stoke easy to read font on off-white pages. 

Find out more on Catherine's website.

Suggested read

Other books by Catherine include those for older readers like The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo by Catherine Johnson (Young Adult, 9/10E) 

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