“Wild, beautiful, and free” Sophfronia Scott

Rated 5 stars ***** ebook. Lake Union Publishing. 2023.

Jean Bébinn loved a slave more than Madame, his wife. After she died, he raised their child alongside his daughter Calista. The two grew up as sisters on his 50,000-acre plantation, where they learned to read, write, and love the land. Despite the hatred she felt from Madame, Jeannette was loved by her papa and sister. In 1851, when she was twelve, he fell ill and died. Though he had promised that she and Calista would inherit Catalpa Valley, Madame had other plans. She had always seen Jeannette as nothing better than a slave, so immediately sold her into slavery.

Jeannette had to learn to travel the painful path her mama had travelled before her, while missing her Papa and the happy life she’d known. As the years passed thoughts of returning home kept her going forward when life seemed darkest. Her only chance to return is to escape, but everyone knows the fate of runaways. Jeannette must chance it, as it’s her only hope.

From the beginning I was caught up in Jeannette’s story, as the author did a good job presenting her as a believable character and as a strong woman.

Recommended for Adults.

“A woman of endurance” Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Amistad Press (HarperCollins). To be published April 12, 2022.

In 1836, when she was 18 years old, Keera was captured from the home she shared with her mother in Yorubaland, West Africa. She and hundreds of others were forced onto a ship, where they endured an agonizing ocean crossing. All were beaten and starved, while every man on deck abused the women and young boys. After being sold into slavery and given the name of Pola, she spent years working sugarcane on a plantation in Piñones, Puerto Rico. There she was sexually abused and tortured regularly by individuals and groups of men. Forced to bear children who were taken away as soon as they were born Pola lost her faith in Yemayá, the water goddess who was supposed to give her strength and energy. After 13 years she was desperate enough to escape, but doing so led to recapture, a severe beating that left her almost dead, and resale to another sugarcane plantation in Carolina.

Pola’s new life in Carolina and the roles she plays there are very different from what she experienced at her former plantation, but she is constantly on the offensive. After having been abused for so many years it was very difficult for her to trust others, or to even love herself. The other slaves take her under their wings to help her learn they are her family, and help her get past her former life so she can become the strong, independent woman she was meant to be.

Told through flashbacks and the present time, Llanos-Figueroa’s powerful story of an almost broken woman who worked hard to not let her spirit be fully crushed by her abusers is an amazing read. Learning about slave life in Puerto Rico through Pola’s words in “A woman of endurance” was painful, but it made me proud of my Afro-Latina Puerto Rican heritage. The next time I travel to Puerto Rico I’ll visit Piñones and Loíza with fresh eyes, and look forward to learning more about my Afro-Latina culture through the descendants of Yorubaland who still live on La Isla.

Highly recommended for Adults.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.