Seaward Born [Hardcover]

Lea Wait (Author)

Book Description

Thirteen-year-old Michael knows he is lucky. Few slaves in 1805 Charleston are where they want to be. But Michael works on the docks and ships in Charleston Harbor, close to the seas he longs to sail.

Life seems good. But then his protective mistress dies and Michael's world changes. His friend Jim encourages him to "steal himself"; to run. Michael is torn.

Mama always taught him, "to get along, you go along." But Papa wanted him to be free. "You see a possibility, you take it....A fish you pull in as a free man tastes ten times sweeter than a fish you catch for a master." Now Mama and Papa are both dead, and Michael must decide alone.

Does he dare risk everything for a chance at freedom in some unknown place? If he and Jim are caught, he will have lost everything. But if he stays -- is staying safe worth staying a slave?

How Michael makes his decision to flee seaward to freedom is the heart of this moving and dramatic story set in an America where slavery is a way of life in the South, and the journey to freedom one of immense courage and mortal danger.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-In 1805 Charleston, Michael, 13, escapes from slavery. After stowing away on a ship bound for Boston, he runs afoul of a sailor who would like to turn him in for reward money. He moves on to Maine, but even there the risk of discovery is high, so he finally heads for true freedom in Canada. Resourceful and self-assured, Michael relies on the help of fair-minded men and on the advice he recalls from his deceased parents. His skills as a cook and as a seaman also serve him well on more than one occasion. The smoothly told story presents several scenarios faced by African Americans in the early 1800s, both through the teen's experiences and those of people he talks to. The decision to leave Charleston is not an easy one, as he weighs safety and security against his wish to "make a life." His struggles in New England show the complications of living as an escaped slave in the North. Michael is a thoughtful and likable character, though he never emerges as a fully compelling individual. Supporting characters have enough depth to be interesting, but are also clearly cast as friend or foe, with no deviation, from the start. The novel has some predictable moments, such as Michael's narrow escape in a Boston alley, but the general fast pace and clear writing make it an accessible story full of thought-provoking situations and well-drawn historical settings.
Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. An orphan slave in Charleston in 1805, 13-year-old Michael longs to work in the harbor as his father did. He gets his wish when his mistress sends him to work on a lighter, a sailboat whose crew unloads cargo from larger ships. Upon his owner's death, Michael and an older slave stow away on a northbound ship in search of freedom. Michael changes his name to Noah Brown to elude slave hunters, yet even in Boston and in the far-off District of Maine, he cannot escape the fear of them. Wait concludes with several pages of historical notes and a bibliography of primary and secondary source material. Well-chosen lines of verse, typically from spirituals and sea chanteys, appear at chapter headings. Though the villains do not seem as real as the many characters who wish Michael/Noah well, Wait creates a sympathetic young hero and sets him on an unusual path northward. Many young readers will enjoy following his journey. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; 1St Edition edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068984719X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689847196
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,450,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been writing fiction (traditional mysteries for grownups, and historical fiction set in Maine for young people) since I left corporate America in 1998 and moved to Maine, a state I've always loved. Right now I'm working on a contemporary mystery for my young fans. I earned my B.A. at Chatham College and did graduate work at New York University. I've also owned an antique print business, MAH Antiques, since 1976. I adopted my 4 wonderful daughters when I was a single parent. They're grown now, and I have eight perfect grandchildren. (Aren't all grandchildren perfect?) In 2003 I married Bob Thomas, a man I've known and loved since 1968 .. sometimes life moves in slow but steady ways. Bob is not only a photographer and a partner in my antiques business, but is immensely supportive of my writing. (He even does all the errands and cooking so I have no excuses to leave my desk!) I'm very lucky to have achieved so many of my goals in life, and to have had fun doing it. My favorite quotation is "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan wrote that, but I think it defines my life. For more information about me, check my website, http://www.leawait.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adventure on the Water -- a review by Megan, May 2, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Seaward Born (Hardcover)

Michael is a lucky 13-year-old African American boy. Even though he lives in the 1800s, he has still not been taken for slavery. He has no parents, but has a guardian, Mrs. Lautrec, who takes care of him and his friends, Anna, Sam, and Sirrah. Mrs. Lautrec sends him off to be with a captain who trains him to survive on water. But after Mrs. Lautrec dies, he and his friends are taken as slaves. He sneaks onto a ship headed to Boston on an adventure to be free from slavery. But not even he knows where it is going to end up.

This book should have been recommended for a more sophisticated age group. The publishers recommend it for ages 8 to 12, but because of the slavery, and men, women, and their children being thrown off of a ship, it should have been recommended more for ages 11 to 15, or for someone who wants to learn about slavery in the 1800s. I was not able to concentrate for a long time, because only every other chapter was interesting. Less describing the scenery and the thoughts of the characters, and more adventure and human conversations would keep the reader more engaged. But other than these minor details, this is a book that makes the reader worry about Michael being caught and enslaved, and at the end it gets more interesting and I cared about the main character's life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Searching for Freedom--A Young Slave in Old Charleston, June 1, 2003

By 

palimpsest writer "women who persevere" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seaward Born (Hardcover)

Michael, born a slave in Charleston, wishes more than anything to be able to work on the docks, and maybe some day work on a boat. When his master dies, his wish is granted, and he goes to the docks. While there, he learns about the idea of freedom. It's a scary thought, and it takes some gumption for Michael, who renames himself Noah, to think of trying to gain freedom for himself. What will he have to endure to become free, and will he succeed? He has already lost his family and his security with a good master. What else must he lose?

Lea Wait, who lives in Maine, has a good eye for background detail. Her vivid scenes of Charleston in 1805-6 are very believable. The lives and terrors of slaves born there, and what they know about the dreadful ships on which their people arrived in America are gripping. Noah, who is a minor character in Wait's earlier young adult novel, "Stopping to Home" manages to meet those friends again. "Seaward Born" is the second book in what will become more stories for young people about others their age who find themselves adrift in a hostile world, but who eventually find true homes.

Lea Wait also writes adult mysteries, the "Shadows" series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and exciting story of boy's escape from slavery, June 11, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Seaward Born (Hardcover)

I read this book with my two grandchildren, ages 8 and ten, and they were fascinated by the story -- and so was I. Author Wait knows her period and her characters, and brings to life the story of a boy who is torn between what he knows and loves, and what the consequences of inaction will be. My grandchildren loved the unhesitating details of what it must have been like to hide in a barrel for days in a ship's hold ... and the chapter on Michael's memories of what his mother had told him of her Middle Passage story are moving and just detailed enough to be fascinating to any age. I would definitely recommend this book
to anyone, of any age -- and certainly to a grandparent wanting to find a way to talk to children about slavery.