Disclaimer: I received this book from Algonquin Young Readers. Thanks! All opinions are my own.



Rating: 4/5



Publication Date: January 29, 2019



Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction



Recommended Age: 12+ (themes of racism in a historical context, some violence, and hope)



Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers



Pages: 304



Amazon Link



Synopsis: Convicted of thievery and transported from England to America, Oliver Cromwell Pitts, shackled to his fellow prisoners, endures inedible food, filthy conditions, and deadly storms on his voyage across the Atlantic. But the hazardous shipboard journey is nothing compared to the peril that waits for him on the colonial shores.

In Annapolis, Oliver’s indentured servitude is purchased by the foul, miserly Fitzhugh, who may have murdered another servant. On Fitzhugh’s isolated tobacco farm, Oliver’s only companion is an enslaved boy named Bara. Oliver and Bara become fast friends with one powerful goal: to escape Fitzhugh. Oliver hopes he can find his sister, Charity, brought somewhere in the colonies on a different ship. Bara dreams of reaching a community of free black people in the cypress swamp who may help him gain his liberty. But first the boys must flee Fitzhugh’s plantation and outrun their brutal pursuer and the dangers that lurk in the swamp.



Review: So I haven't read the other book about Oliver Cromwell Pitts, and I think that while the other book could have helped, but the book read excellently as a stand alone. The events were explained and the book doesn't depend on previous knowledge to know what all is going on. The book is well written and the plot moves along as a good pace. The book isn't too fast or slow and it takes care to make sure sensitive topics are explained well in my opinion. 



However, the book ended very abruptly and didn't fit into the rest of the book. I think the book could have better wrote out and an ending better teased out.



Verdict: A well written book for middle graders learning colonial time periods.