3 Stars (I hate rating this one low)

1796, New Hampshire 

Ona Judge is the favored dowry slave of Mistress Martha, wife of George Washington, the President of the USA. After years of slavery, she escapes, hoping to lead a free life. However, there’s a reward on her head, and Ona needs to stay alive long enough to tell her story. 

Present Day, Chincoteague, Virginia 

Tessa Scott agrees to survey Mama Calloway’s ancestral property despite a tight schedule. Life is hard, dealing with her controlling boyfriend and managing her business, but Tessa can’t say no to Mama Calloway. 

She stumbles upon an old journal wrapped in a cloth and takes it home to realize it belongs to Aunt Ona, who is quite possibly the famous Ona Judge. As Tessa reads the journal, she realizes the true extent of her past and that it’s high time she took control of her life. 

The story comes in the first-person POVs of Ona Judge and Tessa Scott. 

When I read The Dust Bowl Orphans by the author, I loved how she created two strong characters in the historical and contemporary timelines. I expected something similar in this book but couldn’t find it. 

Both books have a few similarities – 

By that definition, I should have liked this one as much as the other. In fact, I should have liked it more since Ona Judge is a real person. However, the contemporary track in this one is pretty much a waste. (We’ll get to this later.)

Historical Track

Firstly, the historical track comes from Ona’s POV, detailing her life at different ages (starting at 10). We see the lives of slaves, the lack of dignity and respect, or even how they are not even considered human beings.

From the beginning, Ona’s character comes across as someone extremely aware of her situation and has definite opinions about it. While this highlights the atrocities and racism, it doesn’t ‘show’ them to the reader. Instead, we are hit on the head with her thoughts. It makes sense to an extent since the journal was written by an adult Ona. However, what we read is not a journal but a direct narration by the character.

Still, I don’t mind it much as the track does what it intends to do – expose the duality of the Washingtons and how even ‘heroes’ can be villains. As a non-American, it was easy to imagine this side of the ‘celebrated leaders’. We are rather used to whitewashed versions.

However, even after reading the entire book, I’m not sure if I know One Judge. She is a real person who achieved something many couldn’t. I should have felt her tangible presence on the pages. Sadly, I only got brief glimpses into who she might have been. Moreover, many events seemed to have been glossed over and simplified.

Her story should either have been more fleshed out (creative liberties are already taken, so why not more?) or told in the third person to suit the tone.

Contemporary Track

Well, where do I even begin? 

The connection between both tracks is quite flimsy, and we could have done with removing this one altogether. Ona Judge is a great-great-grandaunt of Mama Calloway, a relative of Tessa. And Tessa finds the journal, which helps her make the right decisions about her life. 

The problem here is Tessa. She is a walking contradiction and impossible to root for. Right in the first chapter, she says her boyfriend, Dominic, displays controlling behavior and raises red flags. We even ‘see’ it in his actions. Yet, our darling overachiever calls him a prime real estate (no issues with women objectifying men?) a few chapters later (that too after she is almost sure he has cheated on her as well). 

One minute, she is worried about being pregnant and doesn’t want to be tied down to him. Yet, she knows he is a long-term planner. Not just that, he blatantly avoids answering her question and tells her she is marriage material (so him sleeping around with other women shouldn’t be a threat), and all this independent young woman can think of is how hot jealousy s*x is (something that is borderline nonconsensual in this scene). Like, seriously? 

I already revealed a few spoilers, so won’t mention more. Suffice it to say, Tessa is a failed attempt at combining a successful woman with a victim of abuse, doing justice to neither. While it is true that independent and confident women also end up in abusive relationships, this book doesn’t present the situation well. And the ending is so convenient and easy! 

To summarize, My Name Is Ona Judge has its merits and would serve as an introduction to read more about Ona Judge. However, it fails to live up to the potential of the title or the person. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #MyNameisOnaJudge