From Publishers Weekly
In 17 self-contained chapters, Levitin (The Cure; Escape from Egypt) vividly depicts the harsh reality of modern-day slavery in Africa. The book begins on familiar territory, an American classroom, where grade-schooler Marcus learns of the atrocities occurring in Sudan. Then alternating chapters include vignettes set in the Sudan itself, with first-person accounts from villagers like the once-beautiful Dabora who has been stolen from her family to serve as a slave. Inspired by their teacher, Marcus and his classmates raise money to buy liberty for Dinka slaves ("The price is equal to about two goatsAin our money, fifty dollars," says his teacher). The stories set in the Sudan convey a range of experiences and images of terror, yearning despair and hope: Alier, a northern Sudanese, is sent to study in Arab schools to learn their ways, but must return home to his father, a chief, after their small village is ravaged by soldiers; "lucky" Aziz, the son of a wealthy Arab businessman, experiences an initiation to manhood (seeing his father buy and beat his slaves) that leaves an indelible mark; and Majok and his nameless contact take enormous risks to aid refugees. Though the story's moral at times overpowers the volume and the construction may be hard for some to follow, the author's inspirational telling leaves readers with a strong political message tied to Mother Teresa's gentle appeal (and the classroom's mantra): to "do small things with great love." Ages 10-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-In 1997, a Denver fifth-grade class learned that chattel slavery still exists in Sudan, and began a campaign to raise money to free the enslaved. Their crusade is the inspiration for Levitin's moving narrative. Marcus, a boy who dreams of freedom from his cramped city apartment in California, becomes involved in the cause through the efforts of his teacher. The story of his dawning understanding that there are more fundamental freedoms weaves in and out of chapters that tell the stories of Sudanese slaves, their relatives, and others affected by slavery. The slave Dabora sings her song of longing for her rightful name and her people; her daughter longs to buy her back. Koor tells how a boyhood friend, shunned for working in town, misses his tribal initiation, but not the deadly battle that follows in the continuing civil war. Alier and Majok leave their rural villages for education, but don't forsake their tribal responsibilities. Rosha and Rola take pride in their discovery of their black heritage and their father's role in the buy-back program while Aziz recoils from his first slave-buying trip with his father. Bit by bit, the author builds up the picture; the result is an intense portrayal of the complex pattern of Sudanese society today and the issues surrounding buying back slaves. A slow beginning and the complex construction may deter some independent readers, but this book would be ideal for classroom use, and it deserves a librarian's helping hand.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
