Book Review: River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

ABOUT

The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.

Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children--the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear. These are the stories of Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. But above all this is the story of Rachel and the extraordinary lengths to which a mother will go to find her children...and her freedom.

MY THOUGHTS

This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. At some points it was sad at other times it made me angry but all in all it was hopeful. I love historical fiction especially those that highlight key aspects of Caribbean history. Ms. Shearer did her homework with this one, making it a good book to read for someone who knows little about the period of apprenticeship in the Caribbean.

Rachel was a former slave, who after escaping her plantation was determined to find her children who were taken away from her. Her journey starts in Barbados to Demerara and ends in Trinidad where she finds answers to her questions as to what happened to each of her children. I loved how the author gave the story of each child to illustrate the hardships that each one had to face.

As a lover of Caribbean History, this book was very enjoyable to me. Keeping in mind that any account of slavery can be a heavy read, in my opinion books such as this one could be used as a teaching tool and not only entertainment. Rachel's story and those of her children Mary Grace, Thomas Augustus, Mercy, Micah and Cherry Jane remind us of the trials and hurt that came along with slavery.

All in all i would recommend this one.