Customer Reviews

War Comes to Willy Freeman (Arabus Family Saga)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Book Review on War Comes to Willy Freeman by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier, Fiction

During the Revolutionary War, Wilhelma Freeman's (Willy, for short) mother is taken by the British so that she can care for their clothes as a washerwoman. That leaves Willy, a black slave, alone because her father had died a free man when fighting the British as a minuteman. Willy, a perseverant 13-year old girl, disguises herself as a boy and tries to find her mother through blizzards, bare feet, and other hazards. All along the way, Willy is stalked by Captain Ivers, who doesn't believe that she, or any of his slaves, should be free.

Willy is a perseverant girl. In trying to find her mother and escape from the clutches of Captain Ivers, she walks through snowstorms with bare feet, and at one point, she jumps into a river in the middle of winter to escape detection. She wasn't a very lively character. Her actions revolved around working in a tavern and looking for her mother. She didn't too much else so the book felt boring and repetitive.

During her quest for her mother, she befriends Sam, a middle-aged tavern owner. He is the most humorous character in the book. He has a few funny lines, but mostly he is business-like and serious. As Willy's boss, he helps Willy by paying her for her work at the tavern and providing her a place to say.

Captain Ivers is a cruel slavemaster, who hates even the thought of a slave being free. When Willy's father died as a free man, Willy earned her freedom; however, Captain Ivers does anything in his power to stop Willy, even arresting her uncle, who became a free man after fighting in the Revolutionary War.

Throughout the story, Willy perseveres on in her search for her mother. The book wasn't my favorite, because it doesn't dip too deeply into the character's lives and thoughts, and sometimes the characters get a bit repetitive (however, it wasn't a book I hated). There isn't very much humor, but when there is, it's pretty funny. The book can get a bit serious at times, and one warning: there is a use of language and derogatory terms throughout the book.

War Comes to Willy Freeman, an historical fiction novel by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It takes place in Groton and New York in the early 1770's. Some of the main characters are Willy Freeman, Pa Freeman, and Ma Freeman; however a terrible war between the British and the Americans will tear their family apart.
When Willy witnesses the death of her father at the hands of the British and her mother being captured, she finds herself running away from home. Disguised as a boy, Willy travels all the way to new Yourk to find her mother dead as well. The reader will enjoy this interesting story filled weth action, description, and suspense. Readers of all ages will enjoy this fantastic novel.

In this book you will meet Willy, Lucy, Jordan, Captain and Mrs Iveres, Horance, and Sir Fraunses. The main character is Willy Freeman. Willy goes on an amazing adventure to find her mother after her mother is taken aboard a prision ship. She stops at alot of places during her long search for her mother like, Mrs and Captain Iveres place, then she stops at Sir Frauses tavern where she stays for 2 whole years. After her fellow helper Horance finds out that she's a girl and not a boy he starts treating her like a slave. Then when the war ends she finds out that her mother is very ill, and Captain Iveres doesen't want to call up the doctor to see what's wrong with her. That's all the information that I'll give you. You'll have to read to find out what happens to Willy's mom.

War Comes to Willy Freeman
by Connor Russell

I give "War Comes to Willy Freeman" a four star. The book is great most of the time but some parts are not very interesting. For example the author writes about that she gets on a carriage and lies to the carriage driver when the guy asks where she's from. Then they go on about lying for another three pages. Something good about the book is that the chapter endings are good like at the end of chapter one it says "Take your hands off that child" he said calmly " or i'm going to kill you." Also the book has about twenty swears in it most of them being n***** . But if you like adventure than you'll probably end up liking this book.

War Comes To Willy Freeman is a wonderful book if you like learning about the American Revolution. This book takes place in New York. Willy Freeman is the main character. Her father goes to fight the awful British. After reading this book I wouldn't want my dad going to war. Her mother was taken by the British and Willy doesn't know where she is. This book tells about the hardships Willy Freeman has to go through. The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars, was because I wanted to know what happened afterwards. I recommened this book to people who like adventure.

War Comes To Willy Freeman is a good book because it informs you on the history of the US without boring you to death. It is a good book to read for people who like adventures and mysteries. It is one of the most interesting history books i have ever read. If you are in need of a book for school, War Comes To Willy Freeman is the right choice for you!

This book is about a girl whose name is Willy Freeman. Her life changes forever when she witnesses her father's death at the hands of the British, and returns home to find that the British had taken her mother as a prisoner to New York City. Willy begins her long search for her mother disguised as a boy, and luckily finds a place to stay with the famous Fraunces, in his tavern in New York City. Even though Willy has the help of Sam Fraunces and her friend Horace she still knows that being a black female and free will not make the search any easier or safer. I really liked Willy. She was very brave when she witnessed her father's death, and also later, when she came back home to find that her mom was captured by the British and she was left all alone. I also admired her trying to get to her mom even though she was thousands miles away. Willy encouraged me and taught me that even in the worst situations never give up. She never gave up looking for her mom, even though everybody treated her as a boy. Willy changed because from a slave she became a free person. For nine years she had her freedom and even though she wasn't treated very well as a female and a black person she wasn't a slave anymore. But when she lost her parents no one believed her she was a free person and they tried to put her into slavery again. Willy also changed because she told everybody that she was a boy. Because she wasn't wearing a dress everybody treated her like a boy. I admired most of Willy's decisions because they were decisions that affected not only her mom and her uncle's lives but her own as well. Some decisions she made were ones she had to be very brave for. For example, after she ran away from Captain Ivy the second time she risked her life and came back to help her aunt to bury her mother. I couldn't find any connections with the character because Willy had lived at the end of the 18th century and back then the life was very different. And also I have both my parents and she lost hers. Willy was disguised as a boy, and I am a girl and act as a girl. I would tell Willy that if she was strong enough to go through everything she went through, she must be strong to make a new life for herself, so her parents' sacrifice won't be in vain. I am not able to compare Willy to anyone I know because I don't think many kids today had witnessed their parents' death at an age as young as eleven or twelve. Unfortunately there are kids that have lost their parents, or have undergone other kinds of traumatic experiences.

WAR COMES TO WILLY FREEMAN is a very interesting and detailed book.If you want to learn about the Revolutonary War, this is your book.Willy Freeman is having hardships in her small town of Grotown. Her dad (a patriot)has fought in the bloody battle which took place at Fort Griswalt.Her mom has been taken away by the British as a prisoner.Now Willy is all alone.This book doesn't just keep you on the edge of your seat, it practicly makes you fall off of your seat. I think this book is a 5* book.I higly recommend this book to any one who likes action and adventure. You should read it!

I am a parent of an eleven-year-old child who attends the fifth grade at a local school on the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. I was given a copy of War Comes to Willy Freeman as an example of appropriate children's literature that covers the American Revolutionary War period. I was looking forward to sharing with my son the pleasure of reading a "good story". However my delight came to a screeching halt when I came to page two of the story where the mother of the lead character referred to her husband and by implication herself and her own child as "niggers". Based on my own count, the word "nigger" appears nineteen times in the book. The authors concluded that had they not used this racist slur it "would have been a distortion of history".

I, along with other parents and interested individuals take exception to this insensitive, irresponsible and unscholarly conclusion. As an African-American of Caribbean ancestry, I am very much aware of our history as a people. People of color did not refer to each other as "niggers". You would find no such language coming from the works of Phyllis Wheatley, Richard Allen, Prince Hall, or Benjamin Banneker. The nomenclature that was frequently utilized during the time of the American Revolution for people of color were: Negroes, colored, black, African, Ethiopian, slave, freeman or " three-fifths of all other persons". (See, From Slavery to Freedom, A History of Negro Americans,by John Hope Franklin).

The contemporary use of the term in a children's book serves no useful "historical purpose" but only flows from the "fountain of purpose to injure" the "hearts and minds of young and old alike. (See generally, Nigger: The Strange Career of Troublesome Word by Randall Kennedy).

Having read this book, I could not, in good conscience, allow my child or others to be stigmatized by this senseless, hateful and pejorative word that is imbued throughout the book. My son, along with other 10 and 11 year olds are in the process of building their own identify, self-esteem, and self-awareness. Their quest for learning is ill served by the oft-repeated use of the work "nigger" in the publication.

I think this book was well written.It helped me realise what war means and does to familys.I think slavery is wrong.read this book it will help you realise what is wrong in this world.