Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

My Name Is Not Angelica

Rate this book
The planter who buys you will put you to work in his household or in the sugar-cane fields. In the fields, under the hot sun, slaves don't last long, perhaps a year. So show your white teeth, Raisha, smile a lot, and don't say anything unless you're asked.

Snatched from her home in Africa, sixteen-year-old Raisha begins her new life on the island of St. John's as a slave on Jost van Prok's plantation. Even as a sheltered house servant, Raisha cannot ignore the terrible suffering of other slaves. But is she willing to risk her life to help a group of runaways?

This is a compelling account of the great slave rebellion of 1733, and of one daring young woman's suffering, strength, and ultimate triumph of will.

This is Raisha's story.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

24 people are currently reading
732 people want to read

About the author

Scott O'Dell

82 books806 followers
Scott O'Dell was an American author celebrated for his historical fiction, especially novels for young readers. He is best known for Island of the Blue Dolphins, a classic that earned the Newbery Medal and has been translated into many languages and adapted for film. Over his career he wrote more than two dozen novels for young people, as well as works of nonfiction and adult fiction, often drawing on the history and landscapes of California and Mexico. His books, including The King’s Fifth, The Black Pearl, and Sing Down the Moon, earned him multiple Newbery Honors and a wide readership. O'Dell received numerous awards for his contribution to children’s literature, among them the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Regina Medal. In 1984, he established the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction to encourage outstanding works in the genre.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
213 (23%)
4 stars
298 (32%)
3 stars
303 (33%)
2 stars
75 (8%)
1 star
27 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
Profile Image for Christina.
222 reviews2 followers
September 27, 2016
We are currently spending a month in St. John (USVI), so when I found this book in the library, I was very excited! When I was a kid I read both Island of the Blue Dolphins and Zia (both by Scott O'Dell) and liked both of them -- I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins! My Name Is Not Angelica is about the slave rebellion on St. John in 1733-34, told from the point of view of a house slave named Raisha, renamed Angelica by her owners. I was planning to read the book with the kids so we could talk about some local history as well as the bigger issues involved in slavery, but after glancing through it I decided I'd better read it myself first. The book is not long, so I read it in an evening, and was surprisingly disappointed in it. The writing is sparse to a fault. It reads more like a catalog of events rather than a story. Characters are not developed or even really revealed. Motivations or political and social issues are left completely unexplored, and the characters do not process or reflect on events in any way, which leaves it difficult for the reader to do either of those things either. After some quick online research I discovered that this was O'Dell's last book, written when he was 91, and published after his death, which may be why it doesn't seem to be up to the standard I found in Zia and Island of the Blue Dolphins.
30 reviews1 follower
July 16, 2010
This book is about a 16 year old girl named Raisha. She is the daughter of the leader of her African tribe and promised to marry Konje. However, she and a group of her people are captured and taken from her home and sold into slavery on the island of St. John. She goes to work as a house servent on Jost van Prok's plantation. There are some slaves who have runaway to Mary Point. They are planning a revolt. Konje decides that he cannot take being a slave any longer and runs away to join up with those at Mary Point. He promises that when there is enough food at Mary Point he will come back for Raisha. Now Raisha must decide if she should stay where she is safe but a slave at the plantation or run away to join Konje.

This book is really good. I really like Raisha and her attitude with everything she had to deal with. I enjoyed learning about something historic but from a fictional stand point. It would have been terrible to be a slave and this book really made you think about how hard life would have been. I would definitely pass this book on and use it in the classroom.
Profile Image for Kristy Miller.
467 reviews86 followers
February 7, 2022
This book tells the story of Raisha, the 16 year old daughter of a tribal chief in Africa. After a disagreement with another tribe Raisha, her intended, Konje, and several other members are captured and sold to Dutch slave traders. They are sold to planters on St. John, and become involved in the slave revolt of 1733-1734.

As a young girl, I loved Scott O'Dell. Good luck finding a girl in my generation that didn't love The Island of the Blue Dolphins. O'Dell became an entry to all kinds of history. But reading this as an adult it really is just a basic, white-washed introduction to tough historical events. Though I think the book did it's job. I didn't know or understand the extensive details of slavery after I read this, but planted a spark of understanding and curiosity. I don't know if it would be published as it is today, or if O'Dell would have the same credence and authority. But this is a book that I remember reading, and having an impact on me. Maybe it is one of the reason I've grown into the "woke social justice warrior" that I have been called by people who see that as an insult.
Profile Image for Judy.
3,527 reviews66 followers
May 29, 2020
Not an easy book to read. Depressing. Sad, Even horrifying. The harsh realities of slavery 200+ years ago. I kept wondering why O'Dell didn't develop 'Angelica' into a person I cared about. Now that I've finished the book, I can see that that may have been intentional.

A time, place, and series of historical events about which I knew very little.

Art that focuses on the setting would make a better cover than does this ideal image of 'Angelica.'
Profile Image for Kristyn.
478 reviews1 follower
September 19, 2022
I remember reading this book when I was younger. Raisha's young perspective is conveyed through her own observations of being taken as a slave, transported to the Dutch colonies. Her actions show competence and practicality, but the tone is rather dispassionate, which doesn't seem to suit the personality conveyed through her actions.
Profile Image for Mary.
130 reviews9 followers
March 5, 2018
(Closer to 3.5, I think; possible spoilers? Can't flag em on mobile lolol)

So I've owned this book for probably... eighteen years? Seventeen? And I never read it, apart from the bit where Raisha was initially captured. I finally decided, when I came home this weekend, to give it a proper read. And I'm glad I did.

One thing I have a handful of feelings about is the portrayal of white people in this book -- or, more accurately, how this portrayal of white people would have been taught in my white elementary school in my white small town. We read another of Scott O'Dell's books for class, Island of the Blue Dolphins, but I don't remember it that well; I'd have to give it another look to see if this would have been a similar issue. If this had been the book we'd read? I'm not entirely convinced that, in our discussions, we wouldn't have collectively tried to give Jenna van Prok a pass for being outwardly sweet. And I don't think that's the fault of O'Dell; I think it's very important to have outwardly kind but ultimately complicit white people present in this kind of narrative, because that was the reality. But like... we still hear to this day people trying to split hairs about how slaves were treated when, fact is, at the end of the day, white people were still enslaving black people and treating them as property. Outward niceness can't paint over that. And I think O'Dell illustrates this very nicely, in a way that I don't remember seeing in a lot of fictional stories about slavery when I was young. Raisha never warms to Jenna, there are explicit mentions of rape, there's unambiguous torture that's not construed as justified punishment, and there's an ever present sense of fear that only intensifies. Like... slavery was unambiguously bad, guys, and I have no interest in being kind in retrospect to white people who didn't whip their slaves at the slightest provocation. Slavery doesn't need to be sugarcoated.

At the same time, though, slavery shouldn't be discussed in such a way that allows people to believe that the worst of racism is behind us... because it's not. (Same thing with the Civil Rights Era, but that's not what's being discussed here.) It's just changed. Not all of the white people in this book talk about their slaves in a way that abjectly dehumanizes them, similar to how not all white people today talk about black people in a way that abjectly dehumanizes them. That doesn't make them better; that doesn't make today's white people better. And that's another thing I don't think I would have gotten if I'd read this in elementary school; I wouldn't have been asked to point out the similarities between racists then and racists now, because... racists?? What racists??

... I don't know. Maybe I'm underestimating my teachers.

Anyway, like I said, I'm glad I read this. I don't think I wish I'd read it earlier, either, because I wouldn't have had the proper context to read this as I think it was supposed to be read. White girl growing up in a white small town, after all. But it's a short, engaging read that I'd consider trying to discuss with a future child.
4 reviews
May 20, 2021
This book portrays a true story in 1733 about a 16-year-old girl names Reisha, the daughter of the leader of her African tribe. She is with her parents and her soon to be/promised husband young chief Konje. Betrayed by a rival tribe and shipped to the Caribbean, Raisha, her betrothed Konje and her friend Dondo are bought by Dutch family Jost Van Prok. They, along with hundreds of people are transported on a ship called God’s Adventure to sell them to many faraway islands. The ship held 180 people and every day due to poor conditions and the spread of diseases 3 to 4 people died, which required the shipper to replace them. Reisha, Konje and Dondo were sold together as one to the island of St. John ruled by Master Van Prok of Hawks Nest. Reisha due to her angelic face and lovely smile is named Angelica, by Miss Van Prok. All the slaves are given different white people names so they don’t remember nor relate to their real African roots. Conditions on the island for the slaves were harsh. They suffered starvation, dehydration, forced labour and cruel punishments. In 1733 a portion of the slaves ran away to Mary Island where they planned their widescale revolt, which lasted until mid-1734.

This book relies on the slave revolt on St. John’s island, through a young girls eyes.

In my opinion, although the book is very heartfelt and the end is devastating, there is not enough character development and there was a lack of a sense of place. It was hard to put myself in the main character's shoes. Nonetheless, there was still some emotional connection but it could have been stronger, I believe.

I was attracted to the title and that is what motivated me to read it, however, the astonishing story behind the title and the book is definitely a surprise as I did not expect any of the events that took place.

I knew little about these times, all I knew was what I was taught in school as a student from a colonizer country. However, now I understand the pain and suffering that these people had to go through unnecessarily. At some point, Konje asks to speak to one of the leaders as a man and not as a slave, and that is not allowed as he says “You’re a slave, so talk as a slave.”. This book although it conveys history, it illustrates it as a novel and a story whilst being realistic. The ending, in my opinion, is the most heartbreaking and humble scene as well as reading the afterword and finding out that it all ended in a matter of years.

This is Scott O’Dell’s last book, he wrote it in his eighties and it was published posthumously. We all know of the physical pain that slaves went through, what we don’t know or aren’t aware of is the emotional pain that they had to go through, and I think that Scott O’Dell made sure to explain that. I highly recommend reading this book as it provides a clear view of what it was like being a slave at those times.
Profile Image for Emily.
860 reviews32 followers
November 15, 2020
We read this in fifth grade and I remember everyone jumping off a cliff at the end, and that she refused to be called Angelica. Rereading it, she doesn't refuse to be called Angelica so much as it never comes up specifically. While I was reading, I assumed that this was Scott O'Dell's first book and that was why there was such a lack of a sense of place and character development, but it turns out that this is his last book, written in his late eighties and published posthumously. The book starts with Raisha sitting under a tree watching a young king attempt to negotiate with an envoy from the neighbors and then he shows off in front of her and it turns out they're engaged and then they are all being lifted by basket up a set of cliffs but then the diplomatic negotiations go badly and everyone is sold into slavery. It sounds like a confusing nightmare, but in a literary way, not a history of the middle passage way. Like how do you get 150 people from one kingdom to another? Does everyone in the court have a horse? Boats? It's unclear how this society looks or works. O'Dell bypasses the horrors of the slave ships by giving Raisha a private cubby, because she knows a Dutch slave dealer who takes pity on her. Then on the island, he skips over describing labor on a sugar plantation by putting Raisha in domestic servitude and not describing her work in the house either. Slavery is clearly bad, and you wouldn't be able to read this and walk away convinced that African aristocrats like farming Dutch people's land for free, but the real horror happens offscreen. It's also very easy to escape, and then sneak back every night. There's also a significant lack of water on the island. Like, sailors bring drinking water over in barrels to sell to the enslavers. As in, this island does not have a freshwater source but it's settled somehow? The escaped slaves live four miles from the plantation, and they're all starving, but Raisha finds a different valley full of fruit trees and lives there for a month but the community of former slaves doesn't access it or move there. I understand now why this book made so little impression on me in fifth grade, when you'd think the horror of slavery should have been seared into my little brain. If O'Dell had more time to work it out, it would have gotten better, because that man can write an '80s Newberry winner like no one else but Avi.
11 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2023
My oldest son and I read this book together a few years ago. We took an ancestry test for geography and learned that our roots stem from the area the main characters were taken from. Although this is a fictional book, it does such a wonderful job giving details that are factual. Other Africans being involved in the slave trade, being held on the island, the trip across the ocean, losing your name, being treated like cattle, etc. The author did a wonderful job capturing history through a fictional lens.

It was a great tool to explain why we know little to nothing about our African family but can easily track our French and Germanic family back by hundreds of years. It was also a great teaching tool giving the opportunity to speak about our country’s historical events that have created such a strong ripple throughout history that the effects are still being felt today. It’s a hard subject to speak about, but a necessary one.

This is a book that spoke to our hearts and helped teach important lessons, because of that neither of us will ever forget about it. Given that, it meets my criteria for a five star book!
Profile Image for C..
Author 11 books48 followers
May 10, 2023
My Name is Not Angelica reads like a movie. The characters, historical references, and racial situation stayed with me. Reading the fictionalized story of the heroes felt like watching a movie unfold. The care of the story, African culture, and bringing the events to readers is an essential step to elucidating the depth of the human slave trade. I appreciate the details, research, references, and effort undertaken by Mr. O’dell, and I look forward to reading more of his books. This book is a gem!
Author 3 books
November 6, 2018
This was another book I'd read over and over again as a teenager. Scott O'Dell really has a talent for writing capable but emotionally vulnerable young women (also see "The Island Of The Blue Dolphins"). The main character, Raisha (not Angelica) is abducted from her royal African family and sold into slavery. Her adventures are harrowing, and Raisha's humanity constantly comes up against the terror of a slave-owning culture. The book is richly detailed and will really put you in the heat and exhaustion of Raisha's world. In a nutshell, "My Name Is Not Angelica" is about a young woman, thrust into a soul-crushing situation, who must not only find the means to survive, but the will to do so.
Profile Image for Guadalupe Ramirez.
51 reviews10 followers
May 10, 2015
I did not enjoy this book at all, and I was truly expecting to. I have always been upset at the historical portrayal of the end of slavery- Abraham Lincoln as the hero to the omission of the role of slave rebellions.

I was hoping this book would fill in the blanks.

The characters were empty, the dialogue was weak, and the action was unimpressive.

I also was disappointed that the author didn't choose a successful rebellion, but instead one that ends in the characters "escape" through suicide.

I would not recommend this book.
Profile Image for K.
46 reviews
May 26, 2008
This book is very interesting to read. I read it when I was around 12 and it was difficult to read because it's a very emotional book. That being said, I think that's why the book works--it's emotional.
388 reviews2 followers
October 22, 2007
Scott O'Dell has a habit of writing historical pieces about strong women. I always wondered why he chose to look through that lens.
Profile Image for Anna.
765 reviews159 followers
April 14, 2020
I've read this in the past--unfortunately I don't have the dates for that.

Honestly, every time I read this type of book, I cannot understand why people have to be so horrible. Selfish, horrible people who think they're better than others. And it gets me mad.

Anyway, Raisha was a sixteen year old girl who was taken away from her home; everything she ever knew. She was sold to Jost van Prok's plantation and became a house slave. Because she works in the house, she doesn't have nearly as bad punishments as the other field workers (punishments for doing nothing wrong!!). However, she can still feel their pain. Eventually she and some others manage to run away, but will they escape from the hands of the wicked captors or will they all die? This is her story.

It's a really sad story.

The punishments the government listed off made me feel sick.

Besides what I already did say, I think the only thing to note is that the ending is really abrupt and then the afterword is sort of a "make everything better" paragraph. *shrugs*

Content:
Language--use of the word ni***r in different forms
Sexy stuff/romance--Hinting of one girl being raped though the word isn't used
Violence--Slaves are abused badly. One is tortured. People jump off cliff. People get shot.

Ages: 12+
Profile Image for Chantelle Mast.
456 reviews2 followers
June 29, 2020
Not impressed by this read.
Even if it is intentionally written in a very bland and 'rough overview' type of way so as not to encourage attachment to any of the characters I feel like it would've done the story a world of good had they been given a little more relatability and likability.
It's a good depiction of slavery through this era and time - brutal and merciless - but aside from that it's about the only good thing I can say about the book.
The characters are flat and under developed, the dialogue is choppy and poorly written at best and the background is lifeless and under-depicted.
There was no climatic point, no lesson learned - basically a boring history lesson written through the eyes of a slave girl.
Overall; I wouldn't recommend this story to anyone - emergent, beginner or seasoned readers - no one who enjoys any type of plot line or basic moral would enjoy this read.
Profile Image for Julie Jordan Scott.
181 reviews79 followers
June 1, 2022
I was a big fan of Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. I appreciate how he is telling the story of another young woman - it is written without many details though Raisha's passion and strength come through every word: quite good for the middle-grade audience it is aimed toward. I wish there was more.

I hadn't even thought about slave uprisings like this so it definitely filled a missing space in my own awareness of history.
Profile Image for Denise.
111 reviews16 followers
September 15, 2017
Since Scott O'Dell has won a Hans Christian Anderson Author Medal Award and a Newbery, and was the runner-up for the Newbery award three times, my expectations for this book might have been too high. I was disappointed with My Name is Not Angelica. However, my niece seems to like his books, and I buy them to encourage her to read. We have also read Sarah Bishop and Carlota.
Profile Image for Nicole.
1,247 reviews10 followers
September 4, 2018
While this book still has the horrific, heart in the throat, horrible stomach turning awfulness that happened in real life, but I didn't feel the emotion that I did in the other books. It felt like a flat 'this is how it happened', not like the perspective of a person actually going through it.
1 review
February 23, 2019
So interesting. But what happened to Konje and his slaves

The book is quite clear. It is not boring compared to other novels. All people can read this book. Bravo!!!!!!! To the author
1,349 reviews11 followers
July 28, 2021
It took me a bit of time, in the beginning, to figure out who everyone was. Otherwise superb, but had I read this as a child, I'd have had trouble sleeping for a long time. Even as an adult, the ending stunned me.
Profile Image for Deborah.
289 reviews7 followers
March 1, 2022
I did not feel this book was as good as some of Scott O'Dell's other books. The story seemed a bit fragmented and you really did not get to know any of the characters (or their motivations) very well. That being said, it is still an eye opening book about the slave rebellion of 1733 in St. John.
44 reviews
May 24, 2023
This suspenseful book gives excellent insight into slavery during the 1700s on the Virgin Islands. The book covers how Africans were captured, transported, sold, treated, and punished. It tells of a group of escaped enslaved people who ultimately chose death over returning to slavery.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
759 reviews1 follower
February 14, 2022
A book about the great slave revolt of 1733--and one of the most depressing books I've ever read, I think.
Profile Image for Rcc.
62 reviews
April 19, 2023
Un très bon livre pour enfant!
Facile à lire, il m'a transportée sans plus qu'il ne fallait.
Je cherchais un livre court,rapide à lire et celui-ci me paraissait bien, très bon choix :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.