Frances Mary Hendry

The awful trade in people.
This was the first tree book I've read for several years, mainly because it was suggested that I might sleep better. It was an interesting experience, after being a Kindle reader for so long, although I'm not sure my sleep was improved.

This novel has a really appealing cover and It's been a while since I read a book on slavery, but the book wasn't particularly well written and on several occasions I gave up on paragraphs that I simply could not untangle. Sadly this has affected my rating, because the idea of the book, to illustrate a number of ways in which slavery operated at the turn of the nineteenth century, should have worked well.

Being a Young Adult book, the consensus was on five teenagers.
Bert had stowed away on a slaving ship and was now apprenticed to become an able seaman by the age of 16.
Dand had got very drunk during a visit to his local market and become press-ganged into crew for another slaving ship; he is to be sold as a slave when they arrive in Jamaica.
Juliet's father owned a number of trading vessels and one of his products was slaves; she swapped with her cowardly brother to take his place on one of her father's ships, as a boy.
Hassan's father was also a slave trader, although he didn't own the ships, but things didn't go as planned when he travelled with his father to learn the trade.
Ghobi's African family was largely slaughtered, as traders rampaged through the villages, stealing survivors for the slave trade. She is only twelve but her ability to stay aloof and calm the others with admonitions to 'smile and await your chance for revenge', results in her becoming a bit of a leader (medicine woman) amongst the villagers.

Eventually the five teenagers meet up on The Kestrel, Juliet's father's ship. They learn from each other, that slaves are humans with feelings and that slavery is an abominable trade.

Whilst this is an important lesson and the book has a high moral value, it is a pretty graphic read for youngsters, with slaves packed densely in the ships' holds and bloated bodies suffering from cholera, to give just two examples. Maybe not suited for those of sensitive disposition.… (meer)

Victoria seems the classic girl wants to fight and rejects traditionally feminine roles. Except for iceni, women warriors are far from a novelty and Victoria´s own mother belonged once to that tribe, whose language they speak and whose gods they still worship in the Roman household of her abusive father. Victoria, alias Boudicca, is an able fighter but still has much too learn, she is also not great at people, managing to antagonize both Romans and iceni of her own age and not impress many of her elders either.

I started the book fearing Victoria would be a Mary Sue protagonist but she is far from perfect and therefore far from boring.
Mostly the narrative is driven by battles, escapes and accidents, although most of these stem from character flaws. Character flaws are something there´s an overabundance of in this novel, which impressed me as original and realistic; in most books, the good and the bad are rewarded by the universe (author) with what they deserve. Not so here, suffering is random and although courage is admired, it does not ensure safety or peace. Not all slave owners are evil or all slaves hapless victims.

The historical details are so interwoven with the plot and characterization that I was left wanting to know more, even though I have, indeed, learned quite a bit.… (meer)

Someone at my book club was staggered that I hadn't read this growing up, so I tracked down a copy from the library - and it was fantastic. I should have read this right between The Boggart by Susan Cooper and The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. It's got a little bit of magic and a lot of adventure, with a gutsy young heroine and her loyal friends: Peem Jackson, a cottar's boy whose life she saved (and who, in turn, saved her life several times over), and Davie Spens, a clever young boy with a harelip that prevents others from understanding them. Meg can understand him, though, and they wind up betrothed at a young age. Meg's oldest sister Inge was a particularly interesting character, possibly the most complex of any of the others. I'd read a whole other book from her point of view.

The author does a wonderful job making the historical aspects seem natural (they seem natural to the characters, even if they would be unusual now), and incorporating the Scots dialect (there's a glossary in the back). The author's note in front distinguishes the real from the made-up.

Quotes

"When I see something in the air, is it something that must be, or something that only may be? When I use my power, am I using it truly, or maybe being used by it? Can I do anything that's not written for me? I sometimes think I can't." (Inge to Meg, 62)

"We may hurt worst the thing we love best, my pet." (Inge to Meg, 63)… (meer)