5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sarny: A Life Remembered by Gary Paulsen, March 12, 2004
A Kid's Review
Sarny takes place in the South. It occurs right after the Civil War. Sarny is a slave whom just been freed because the North won. She sets off in a desperate search for her sold children. There were two of them and they had just barely became toddlers when they were hurriedly sold to a slave trader. Their names were Delie and Tyler.
Finding herself free in a Northern filled South, Sarny is accompanied by another former slave as they trudge their tenseful journey. She meets many new friends and even finds true love in places she had never even imagined.
As many friends as she makes, there were still quite a few people who threatened her and became a nuisance. These people still thought blacks should be slaves. They treated Sarny in the worst ways without even touching her...
Although Paul revolves the book around Sarny and her experiences with life during and after the Civil War, he skillfully mixes in a bit of history. Paul shows the hardships of both races-black and white alike-during that fateful era. This heartrending story will keep you laughing to stitches one moment, and have tears streaming down your cheeks the next. This book would be recommended to all ages-from children to adults.
In my opinion, I enjoyed the book very much. I was fascinated how a remarkable story. While I was reading could see through Sarny's eyes and experience the miserable times to the cheerful times. Through Paulson's figurative writing, I could feet the pain of the whippings on my shoulders. I could smell the smoke of fire dying down to embers, and feel the misery and joy jumble as one like needles lightly pricking my heart.
I have been fortunate enough to read Nightjohn-the story of Sarny as a young child. Sarny: A Life Remembered. This enchanting sequel enraptured me with the feelings and thoughts of Sarny-I was blown away by Sarny's determinedness and her spunk. Paulson intigued me by threading the story seamlessly and making me cling to the pages, eager to read on.
However, in the story, Nightjohn, Sarny was a child who just wanted to learn. Now, she is a grown woman with responsibilities whose top priority is her children. In Nightjohn, Sarny didn't want to lose the language of writing; in Sarny: A Life Remembered, she did not want to lose her children. In Nightjohn, learning the alphabet was the most important thing that was happening to her and in the book, Sarny:, the only thing in the world that she cared about was her two little toddlers. In a short period of time, Sarny's life changed completely and unexpectedly.
Overall, Sarny: A Life Remembered was a superb book. I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys and interesting story that can make you laugh and cry at once. This is the best family book and should be told over and over again. I would absolutely rate Gary Paulsen's Sarny: A Life Remembered as a five star book!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This sequel to Nightjohn is a true gem., November 7, 1997
By A Customer
For those of you who loved Nightjohn, it won't come as a surprise that the sequel telling the rest of Sarny's life is equally well written. After learning how to read on the plantation from Nightjohn, Sarny uses that skill throughout her life to teach others. The narrative starts while Sarny is ninety-four and in the nursing home, as she explains the need to write down the story of her life. After her first husband had died of being overworked in the fields, all Sarny had left was her children. Shortly before the Civil War cruel Master Waller sold little Delie and Tyler. After the arrival of Yankee troops and freedom, Sarny sets off for New Orleans to locate her babies. The rest is a story that, like its prequel, made me cry.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
nightjohn, November 24, 2003
This review is from: Sarny (Mass Market Paperback)
I really believe the book sarny was very well written and it really portrayed how slavery really was and how bad things were for the slaves. It really mad me open my eyes and see just how good I have it. I used to just think that the slaves would just have to work really hard and long days,and at the end of the day they would be able to rest and eat a good meal, but that is the complete oposite of how things really were. Life for the slaves was horrible and theres just no words to say that would describe how bad they had it and just how bad they were treated. I fill that everyone should read this book because it is definitly an eye opener.
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