Freewater
First edition cover
AuthorAmina Luqman-Dawson
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical fiction
PublisherLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
February 1, 2022
Awards2023 Coretta Scott King Author Award
Newbery Medal
ISBN978-0316056618

Freewater is a 2022 children's novel by American author Amina Luqman-Dawson, and published by Little Brown and Company. The story, about two young children who escape from slavery and find a community in the Great Dismal Swamp, won both the Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Medal in 2023.[1][2]

Plot

Luqman-Dawson's book is set in the southeastern United States during its slavery era. Two children and their mother are fleeing together from a horrific life on a plantation. The children become separated from the mother during the attempt. After making their way into a swamp, they are rescued by a Black man named Suleman, an escaped slave himself. He takes them to "Freewater": a community of Maroons hidden deep in the Great Dismal Swamp. Freewater is populated entirely by people who managed to escape slavery, as well as their children.[3] While the community of Freewater is a creation of the author, it is based on actual communities that existed in the area.

The book is written with an alternating point of view, helping to develop a large and "multidimensional cast."[4]

Reception

Luqman-Dawson's book has received generous praise. Kirkus Reviews calls the novel "An exceptional addition to the resistance stories of enslaved people," and singles out the setting's description for special praise: "...so vivid that it becomes a key aspect of the narrative."[3] BookPage calls the story "historical fiction at its finest."[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present". American Library Association.
  2. ↑ "Newbery Award Winners". Albuquerque Public Library.
  3. 1 2 "Freewater". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. ↑ Njoku, Eboni. "Review of Freewater". The Horn Book. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. ↑ Verbeten, Sharon (February 5, 2022). "Freewater". BookPage. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
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