Customer Reviews

Seaward Born

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I didn't know too much about life in 1806 or slavery, but I really enjoyed reading Michael's story! He had to decide if he wanted to risk his life to try to be free. He had narrow escapes. I really liked the parts where he was escaping, and where he decided to change his name to Noah. I really liked this book!

My son is 12, and not usually an eager reader, but Seaward Born really kept him reading. He said "it was real!" and he loved that the main character not only chose his own destiny -- he chose his own name! Definitely worth checking out.

This book helped me and my "8" & "10" year olds learn and appreciate what it was like for a young black boy during this era. For me it wasn't a page turner, but a realistic portrayal of the life of this young boy, the ship hands and those that entered his life. I do think this book was educational and this subject critical to our appreciation of what slavery meant and the impact it has had on our society.

This book about the slave trade will intrigue the young reader. My daughter read this for her 5th grade FCAT studies and I was impressed with her reaction to the story. Invariably children find readinga chore. However, this is one book that she read quite speedily. The story revolves around a young boy who decides to break out of slavery. The reader can ascertain much in the way of social and ethical challenges from this particular genre.