Status
Available
Publication
Hyperion Book CH (2007), Edition: Reprint, 192 pages
Library's review
On a day when rain came down “hard as sorrow,” George Weems sets out to sell more slaves at one time than anyone ever had. Pierce Butler must sell off hundreds of slaves to cover gambling debts and 12-year-old Emma is one of his victims. Named after Lester’s grandmother, whose mother was a
-Kirkus Review
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slave, Emma is part of a large cast of characters—slaves, owners, businessmen and abolitionists—who tell their own stories, in their own voices. Interludes occasionally have characters return in old age to reflect on their lives since the auction, a brilliant technique that demonstrates, in some characters, the persistence of racist belief. Other, good-hearted, characters, white and black, act towards each other with respect and dignity and affirm the possibilities of conscience and common humanity even in the worst of times. This important novel, based on an actual slave auction in 1859, begs to be performed, though teachers and performers may be hesitant to utter the racist language of the day. Powerful theater and one of Lester’s finest works. (cast of characters, author’s note) (Fiction. 12+)-Kirkus Review
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Subjects
Awards
Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominee — Middle Grade — 2009)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2009)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — Teen — 2009)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (Nominee)
Nēnē Award (Nominee — 2007)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 2008)
Coretta Scott King Award (Winner — 2006)
California Young Reader Medal (Nominee — 2008)
Virginia Readers' Choice (Nominee — Middle School — 2008)
Maud Hart Lovelace Award (Nominee — 2009)
Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers (Nominee — 2007)
South Carolina Book Awards (Nominee — Junior Book Award — 2008)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2006)
CCBC Choices (2006)
Notable Children's Book (2006)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2005
ISBN
1423104099 / 9781423104094