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Freewater
A middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom.
Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.
In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home.
Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.
In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 936 reviews
February 14, 2022
Well this is going to be a book I push in everyone's face. Hard to imagine another middle grade book topping it for me this year. Absolutely stellar in every way.
February 2, 2023
The premise of Freewater is terrific: An enslaved mother, son and daughter flee to a swampland haven of free blacks. When the family is separated and captured the two children must find their way and adapt to the entirely different world of liberty, self determination and initiative that the free community encourages. There they form and alliance with other children (some formerly enslaved and some free born) and come up with a plan to protect their community and rescue their mother and their friend.
Based on the real maroon, free black, swamp communities, I was fully prepared for some fantasy, or wish fulfillment elements. Unfortunately there are so many liberties taken with reality I lost the ability to believe or care. There can be snakes and there can be quicksand, but there should not be quicksand that has some new form of snake life able to live below ground and both constrict and bite. You can have imagined plenty in a swamp but having a giant UR tree that fruits and flowers and produces acorns all at the same time is too much. The climactic party scene has incoherent action and a rescue that defies belief. Once an author starts violating norms of biology and physics they need to provide some coherent world building that accounts for the deviations. The setting has a great hold on the imagination with all the charm of the Swiss Family Robinson and all the dramatic tension of Ann Frank's attic, but vague descriptions about ropes made out of 'soft tree wood' don't help bring it fully to life. There are some strong characters. I loved the the accident prone spunk of Sanzi, and Billy's sister Ada had a powerful presence. Dialing back the over the top fantasy and anchoring the action in a more believable and more specific setting would have helped the story shine.
Based on the real maroon, free black, swamp communities, I was fully prepared for some fantasy, or wish fulfillment elements. Unfortunately there are so many liberties taken with reality I lost the ability to believe or care. There can be snakes and there can be quicksand, but there should not be quicksand that has some new form of snake life able to live below ground and both constrict and bite. You can have imagined plenty in a swamp but having a giant UR tree that fruits and flowers and produces acorns all at the same time is too much. The climactic party scene has incoherent action and a rescue that defies belief. Once an author starts violating norms of biology and physics they need to provide some coherent world building that accounts for the deviations. The setting has a great hold on the imagination with all the charm of the Swiss Family Robinson and all the dramatic tension of Ann Frank's attic, but vague descriptions about ropes made out of 'soft tree wood' don't help bring it fully to life. There are some strong characters. I loved the the accident prone spunk of Sanzi, and Billy's sister Ada had a powerful presence. Dialing back the over the top fantasy and anchoring the action in a more believable and more specific setting would have helped the story shine.
February 17, 2022
Freewater is historical fiction at its best. The characters are complex and fully realized. Homer's 'invisibility," and his growth as he learns about the maroon community and discovers his own worth is so well done. THe author illustrates resistance to oppression with the use of her young protagonists. I loved how the action took place both at the SOutherland plantation and in Freewater irself. My favorite character was Sanzi, the freeborn child of Mrs. Light. SHe so longs to be a hero and to prove herself. I loved the contrast between her and her sister Juna. Billy was also an excellent character. HIs shyness but ultimate strength was so wonderfully portrayed. Nora, the daughter of the plantation owners was outstanding as well. Her selective mutism and her longing to help the woman who raised her was so complex and beautiful. It was also good to find that none of the characters were flat. AN example of this fact is one of the slaves, who is called Turner or Two Shoes. The book explores the brutality of slavery without engaging in excessive violence or unnecessary descriptions of exploitation. Even so, Luqman-Dawson illustrates the horrific predicaments the slaves endured as well as providing beautiful scenes of freedom and coexistance in the community of Freewater.
All the characters had significant roles to play in the story, and I loved how there was not a false step in the narrative. The plot points were woven together into a vibrant tapestry. The book is fast-paced with short chapters from multiple perspectives. Readers' interests will be maintained throughout the novel. I could not put it down.
Luqman-Dawson has written a riveting tale about the maroon communities of free individuals who resisted oppression and made a difference in the world. I learned so much from this novel and thoroughly recommend it. This is one of the best historical fiction books that I have read in some time. Happy reading, and God bless you all.
All the characters had significant roles to play in the story, and I loved how there was not a false step in the narrative. The plot points were woven together into a vibrant tapestry. The book is fast-paced with short chapters from multiple perspectives. Readers' interests will be maintained throughout the novel. I could not put it down.
Luqman-Dawson has written a riveting tale about the maroon communities of free individuals who resisted oppression and made a difference in the world. I learned so much from this novel and thoroughly recommend it. This is one of the best historical fiction books that I have read in some time. Happy reading, and God bless you all.
March 24, 2023
I enjoyed listening to this one. Maybe there were just too many characters and perspectives, because I never fully connected to them. And there was one who really got on my nerves. But the story overall was interesting. I am giving this a 3.5.
February 28, 2023
This book was almost too intense. Too many of the characters seemed to have a very cavalier attitude towards safety- their own, and others- or a very poor understanding of danger! As a mom and an adult, I spent the whole book feeling tense and uneasy. The ending was perfect, though, and this is a part of history I hadn't heard about. I always assumed that people who escaped from plantations just headed straight north, but the idea of living in the swamps fascinated me.
March 26, 2023
I like when historical fiction is not afraid to amp up adventure and excitement even if credulity is stretched a bit. This is two parts historical possibility, covering a little known segment of the Underground Railroad. And one part, let’s get a posse of delusionally brave kids together to break into the Ministry of Magic to pull off the rescue caper of the century.
February 21, 2025
✰ 2 stars ✰
The 2023 Newbery Medal recipient Freewater is a fictionalized setting that draws inspiration from the Great Big Swamp - an impassable and inhabitable piece of land that extended from Virginia to North Carolina - an area of refuge and sanctuary for many runaway slaves that hoped to escape deep into its inhospitable forest and marsh to avoid ever being forced back into enslavement again. It is a a part of history that is rarely mentioned in history books, and for that I am grateful to an author that bears a strong semblance to my own name, for bringing it to my attention.
“You ever seen something that don’t seem real? I’ve seen a few things.”
However, not even sharing that bond of familiarity could have saved it from the disappointing experience it proved to be. I can forgive the overall vibes of magical realism - a genre I don't particularly adhere to,- and one which is conveniently missing from the Goodreads page - as the author begins with the proclamation - 'this is a tale of what might have been.' 🤔 So, in that respect, I can be accepting of the idyllic sanctuary created by the inhabitants - a safety net, in which the graphic horrors and atrocity of slavery do not exist and those who have escaped it, live a life dedicated to the wonders and marvels of nature akin to that of Swiss Family Robinson, where the most dangerous feat is swinging from vine to vine or foraging in the wilderness for new claims to stake hold of.
“I used to think it was from scaring us—beating, cutting, or whipping us that did it. No. They get us best when we love anybody or anything. That’s how they keep us.”
But, what made it deeply disheartening was to see the total lack of authentic believable portrayal to the mannerisms, dialogue and behaviors of those living during that time period that made it so difficult to believe in it. If I didn't know that it was set during the pre-Civil War, the children and the Southerland plantation people could have very well been in the modern day, and no one would have been the wiser. That disconnected feeling to that era made the heartache and the troubles feel less palpable than what it could have been. 😒
There were too many varying perspectives, that were even inconsistent in how they were captured. Chapters alternating between different characters and then abruptly shifting to a narrative that consisted of two viewpoints, when it was already done before, without even mentioning it! 😫 And one view that did not even have a header! And then, having only Homer's in the first person POV, and the rest as the third also made for a disjointed flow, which made it a disruptive read. The stages of events, even made very less of an impact. I mean, how can part 2 be dedicated to Freewater, when we are still getting glimpses of those left at the plantation. It needed some more clear focus to make it more immersive and compelling. 🙎🏻♀️
“He’s got Mama,” Ada said.
I heard him! my mind screamed.”
For as much as it may be unbelievable to believe the callous and easy way in which some attempted to gain their freedom, I did feel Homer and Ada's desperation to return to their mother at the plantation from which they had escaped. 😥 Even during their limited stay with fiercely determined Sanzi and the other children in their hideout, there was always that rallying cry to survive just long enough to find a way to save her and bring her here, despite how the outside world slowly started to make its way into their stronghold, eager to hunt down those who had escaped their clutches of brutality and cruelty.
Not to say that the depiction of slavery was entirely inaccurate - 'the most important was being invisible. Invisibility was how I survived. Yes, the faint but brief glimpses of the horrors were shown, but I also felt that it was an impartial portrayal of the plantation slave-owners that felt too easy... They were too comical in nature, abrasive and harsh, but still culpable of making easy mistakes that made it the threat factor - less threatening. 😕 I mean, children were outsmarting the adults; risks were being taken under their not-so watchful eye, which felt disbelieving. I get the need to show even the good side of some - one where they recognized the wrongness of it, and hoped to make amends.
“All I knew was that I didn’t want to go back. I couldn’t go back.”
But, I could never get behind it; the story seemed to be dragging at one point, that failed to resonate with me. I could not feel the threat level rise, did not care for the friendships forged, simply because none of them stood out. It felt tedious and lacked heart and conviction. I was not committed to their strife, nor happy in their success; just relieved when it drew to an eventual close. Just not an impressive read, one that I will only look back on with disappointment. 😮💨 Another recent Newbery bites the dust; maybe it is a me thing that I am not connecting with the current middle grade audience, so fingers crossed I'll fare better with the earlier wins after tackling 2024's winner. 🤞🏻
“There’s no knowing about the light that being free brings you until you lose it.”
The 2023 Newbery Medal recipient Freewater is a fictionalized setting that draws inspiration from the Great Big Swamp - an impassable and inhabitable piece of land that extended from Virginia to North Carolina - an area of refuge and sanctuary for many runaway slaves that hoped to escape deep into its inhospitable forest and marsh to avoid ever being forced back into enslavement again. It is a a part of history that is rarely mentioned in history books, and for that I am grateful to an author that bears a strong semblance to my own name, for bringing it to my attention.
“You ever seen something that don’t seem real? I’ve seen a few things.”
However, not even sharing that bond of familiarity could have saved it from the disappointing experience it proved to be. I can forgive the overall vibes of magical realism - a genre I don't particularly adhere to,- and one which is conveniently missing from the Goodreads page - as the author begins with the proclamation - 'this is a tale of what might have been.' 🤔 So, in that respect, I can be accepting of the idyllic sanctuary created by the inhabitants - a safety net, in which the graphic horrors and atrocity of slavery do not exist and those who have escaped it, live a life dedicated to the wonders and marvels of nature akin to that of Swiss Family Robinson, where the most dangerous feat is swinging from vine to vine or foraging in the wilderness for new claims to stake hold of.
“I used to think it was from scaring us—beating, cutting, or whipping us that did it. No. They get us best when we love anybody or anything. That’s how they keep us.”
But, what made it deeply disheartening was to see the total lack of authentic believable portrayal to the mannerisms, dialogue and behaviors of those living during that time period that made it so difficult to believe in it. If I didn't know that it was set during the pre-Civil War, the children and the Southerland plantation people could have very well been in the modern day, and no one would have been the wiser. That disconnected feeling to that era made the heartache and the troubles feel less palpable than what it could have been. 😒
There were too many varying perspectives, that were even inconsistent in how they were captured. Chapters alternating between different characters and then abruptly shifting to a narrative that consisted of two viewpoints, when it was already done before, without even mentioning it! 😫 And one view that did not even have a header! And then, having only Homer's in the first person POV, and the rest as the third also made for a disjointed flow, which made it a disruptive read. The stages of events, even made very less of an impact. I mean, how can part 2 be dedicated to Freewater, when we are still getting glimpses of those left at the plantation. It needed some more clear focus to make it more immersive and compelling. 🙎🏻♀️
“He’s got Mama,” Ada said.
I heard him! my mind screamed.”
For as much as it may be unbelievable to believe the callous and easy way in which some attempted to gain their freedom, I did feel Homer and Ada's desperation to return to their mother at the plantation from which they had escaped. 😥 Even during their limited stay with fiercely determined Sanzi and the other children in their hideout, there was always that rallying cry to survive just long enough to find a way to save her and bring her here, despite how the outside world slowly started to make its way into their stronghold, eager to hunt down those who had escaped their clutches of brutality and cruelty.
Not to say that the depiction of slavery was entirely inaccurate - 'the most important was being invisible. Invisibility was how I survived. Yes, the faint but brief glimpses of the horrors were shown, but I also felt that it was an impartial portrayal of the plantation slave-owners that felt too easy... They were too comical in nature, abrasive and harsh, but still culpable of making easy mistakes that made it the threat factor - less threatening. 😕 I mean, children were outsmarting the adults; risks were being taken under their not-so watchful eye, which felt disbelieving. I get the need to show even the good side of some - one where they recognized the wrongness of it, and hoped to make amends.
“All I knew was that I didn’t want to go back. I couldn’t go back.”
But, I could never get behind it; the story seemed to be dragging at one point, that failed to resonate with me. I could not feel the threat level rise, did not care for the friendships forged, simply because none of them stood out. It felt tedious and lacked heart and conviction. I was not committed to their strife, nor happy in their success; just relieved when it drew to an eventual close. Just not an impressive read, one that I will only look back on with disappointment. 😮💨 Another recent Newbery bites the dust; maybe it is a me thing that I am not connecting with the current middle grade audience, so fingers crossed I'll fare better with the earlier wins after tackling 2024's winner. 🤞🏻
April 23, 2023
This is a fascinating account of two slaves who instead of escaping to the north escape to a swamp in the south. They are welcomed by a community made up entirely of other former slaves and their children who were born there as free citizens. Based on real settlements in the swamps of North Carolina and Virginia, it made me wonder how long these settlements existed and how many people lived in them.
January 30, 2023
I’ve gone back and forth between a 2 or 3 star rating. I like Christopher Paul Curtis’s writing style much better. This topic reminded me of a couple of his books. This was a unique story about the maroon people during slavery. I’m glad there is a book out there that shows a different way that slaves escaped other than going North.. There were interesting characters that had unique experiences. The narrator for the audio book was excellent. I just did not care for the writing style. I had a difficult time visualizing, keeping the characters straight, getting to know and connect with the characters. It seemed the story changed points of view too quickly and the dialogue was flat. Maybe the hardback book had illustrations, map, and list of characters? Since this is a debut and on so many mock Newbery lists, I had very high expectations- it did not come close to meeting them. This is a very mild story- maybe too much so given the topic compared to Curtis’s slavery stories. If you are looking for a story in this time period with the topic of slavery without so much brutality- this may be a title to check out. I will be very disappointed if it gets any Newbery attention as the writing is not anywhere close to that level. I went with three stars because it is probably unfair to do so much comparing of a debut author and a master storyteller like Curtis. Update- with the Newbery announcement today I stopped at my local library to get the hard copy- no illustrations maps etc- just a short background that most students will probably skip if they can get through the 400 pages. This was a disappointing pick- so many other choices this year that I thought were much better- but that’s what makes Newbery choices so interesting. Book jacket is amazing.
December 28, 2022
I plowed through this book simply because I wanted to get it over with as fast as I could. I didn't care much for it. There were a few glimmers of something interesting with the plantation scenes, but the main plot of the Freewater swamp village were slow and boring.
The story opens with slave children Homer and Ada escaping into the swamps around their planation with the dogs in hot pursuit. They narrowly escape drowning in a river, being swallowed by a mud pit, and bitten by a snake before being rescued by a man who creates a fire diversion long enough for them to get away. He takes them deeper into the swamp where a community of escaped slaves have managed to live and hide. This community is called Freewater.
Meanwhile, back at the plantation, activity has shifted to wedding preparations for the master's daughter. Though Homer and Ada love Freewater, they long for their mother and friend to join them. They decide to risk their freedom, returning to the plantation on the night of the wedding to help them escape to Freewater.
I found very little of this story believable which is why it didn't resonate at all. It's a community of treehouses connected by rope bridges. Too Swiss Family Robinson for me. Some of the kids have lived in Freewater their whole lives, which amounts to a minimum of 12 years eluding slave hunters. It was all too neat and tidy. It's hard to believe they were able to sneak back onto the plantation without being caught. And lighting the wedding tent on fire with arrows...come on. The plot doesn't meld well with history. Then there's little details like a rushing river surrounded by big rocks. Doesn't sound like a swamp river to me. Accurate setting is important for historical fiction to be taken seriously.
Good first draft. Needed much more proofreading and editing.
The story opens with slave children Homer and Ada escaping into the swamps around their planation with the dogs in hot pursuit. They narrowly escape drowning in a river, being swallowed by a mud pit, and bitten by a snake before being rescued by a man who creates a fire diversion long enough for them to get away. He takes them deeper into the swamp where a community of escaped slaves have managed to live and hide. This community is called Freewater.
Meanwhile, back at the plantation, activity has shifted to wedding preparations for the master's daughter. Though Homer and Ada love Freewater, they long for their mother and friend to join them. They decide to risk their freedom, returning to the plantation on the night of the wedding to help them escape to Freewater.
I found very little of this story believable which is why it didn't resonate at all. It's a community of treehouses connected by rope bridges. Too Swiss Family Robinson for me. Some of the kids have lived in Freewater their whole lives, which amounts to a minimum of 12 years eluding slave hunters. It was all too neat and tidy. It's hard to believe they were able to sneak back onto the plantation without being caught. And lighting the wedding tent on fire with arrows...come on. The plot doesn't meld well with history. Then there's little details like a rushing river surrounded by big rocks. Doesn't sound like a swamp river to me. Accurate setting is important for historical fiction to be taken seriously.
Good first draft. Needed much more proofreading and editing.
February 27, 2023
I....didn't love this. I'm not sure what I missed that everyone else seemed to love but I just didn't really connect with these characters. I can appreciate the intensity of this story, especially being aimed at middle grade readers, but it just didn't hit right for me. I'm kind of bummed!
February 14, 2023
Blew me away. Would recommend this to anyone,child or adult!
July 29, 2023
Okay, let's just begin this with noting that having observed book awards for 40 years I've concluded that all awards of this sort have a political aspect--and by that I mean they are more often then not awarded for reasons that have nothing to do with their literary quality.(And sadly, in terms of kids books, actual kid appeal.)
Someone in the group has an agenda, anything from an author being their sister-in-law to them wanting to recognize an author who'd already written a better book to,yes, wanting a book that echoes their own beliefs, religious, political, etc. If the other committee members disagree they will push their choice until they bully the others into voting their way.
Let's admit that and go from there.
Now to this book. It has a quote so good that I will quote it here:
"I have the scars on my back, you can touch those. But most of the scars we get from out there aren't ones you can't see.
It's bits like that which show how powerful this could have been. It starts out well, but then it meanders all over the map. It jumps from character to character, sometimes in the first person and others in the third. And it's as if a story about escaped enslaved people in a community of their own. (and this is real, as discussed here) is crossed with "Peter Pan" or perhaps the Kevin Costner "Robin Hood," with its "sky bridges," hidden doors in the water, and made up rituals. Is this supposed to be believable? It really does feel more like "magical realism" than solid historical fiction. The realities are diminished. It loses power.
And speaking of realism, the grand finale is ridiculous. In the end, the enslaved all get away and there is a "they all lived happily ever after" sort of ending for them. It invalidates anything left of the story's credibility.
That this won the Newbery doesn't surprise me. But it does sadden me.
Someone in the group has an agenda, anything from an author being their sister-in-law to them wanting to recognize an author who'd already written a better book to,yes, wanting a book that echoes their own beliefs, religious, political, etc. If the other committee members disagree they will push their choice until they bully the others into voting their way.
Let's admit that and go from there.
Now to this book. It has a quote so good that I will quote it here:
"I have the scars on my back, you can touch those. But most of the scars we get from out there aren't ones you can't see.
It's bits like that which show how powerful this could have been. It starts out well, but then it meanders all over the map. It jumps from character to character, sometimes in the first person and others in the third. And it's as if a story about escaped enslaved people in a community of their own. (and this is real, as discussed here) is crossed with "Peter Pan" or perhaps the Kevin Costner "Robin Hood," with its "sky bridges," hidden doors in the water, and made up rituals. Is this supposed to be believable? It really does feel more like "magical realism" than solid historical fiction. The realities are diminished. It loses power.
And speaking of realism, the grand finale is ridiculous. In the end, the enslaved all get away and there is a "they all lived happily ever after" sort of ending for them. It invalidates anything left of the story's credibility.
That this won the Newbery doesn't surprise me. But it does sadden me.
June 28, 2023
As a historian, I kept finding myself irritated by the lack of research that went into this book, giving it a fantasy feeling if you know about actual history. For one thing, the author needed to read more literature written in the antebellum era to get a sense of how people talked and thought. They would absolutely NEVER have used metaphors having to do with flying to the moon. She also has a lot of contemporary ideas about childhood and gender which do not fit at all in this period: she has a girl who wears pants and plays make-believe with toy bows & arrows about her favorite adult male all day. For a woman to wear pants was considered absolutely shocking and her parents would never have allowed it.
More problematic, the author also has scene after scene of a slave girl doing acts of resistance that are very easily spottable: putting raw meat in a sock in a knapsack so it will stink, burning and ruining the supper for the white slave holders… if any slave had done one of these things, they would have been punished. To do them repeatedly, they would have been whipped within an inch of their life or outright killed, or sent to a “slave breaker” who would torture them into submission, or “sold south” to be worked to death on a harsher plantation. Slavery was entirely based on violence. Yes, slaves resisted in small ways all the time, such as slowing down their work. But outright and obvious acts that would have annoyed the slave holders were not tolerated in any fashion.
On a related note, the character who sends burning arrows into plantation to burn down barns? He would have been hunted to extinction very quickly, and every slave on the plantation he targeted would have been punished. It would not have been something that he could have done repeatedly, nor would he have done so, given that so many other slaves would have been punished on his behalf. These are examples of why this book exasperated me and felt like a fantasy: slavery was terrifying and physically and mentally horrific. It was not a game of slave against master in which outright resistance was a clever game to be played freely.
Why does the author keep using bows and arrows? There is no mention of her fictional community having American Indian members or ancestry (although that would have been historically possible and a choice she could have made to include). Bows and arrows as a toy is a completely modern concept, and the black slaves in this book would not have known how to make functional bows and arrows without instruction as it was not a weapon used in North America except by indigenous people. Furthermore, she has them repeatedly use burning arrows for no good reason while building a rope bridge (the whole “tree people” and “sky bridge” chapters of this book are also fantasy, in my opinion). When fire is your daily source of heat and cooking flame, you gain a lot of respect for how dangerous it is and how it must be carefully handled. But in her fantasy world, matches—not flint stones—are repeatedly used to make burning arrows (and of course one of the children plays with burning arrows and burns down their corn field and several houses).
Yes, there were a few small communities of blacks who managed to live freely in the midst of slavery such as the author has take a central role in this book. But they survived by trading clandestinely with slaves on plantations and raising their own food, not by wearing fur and leather sewn with vines (NOT A THING) in the hot and humid south (face palm) or a wedding dress made of fresh leaves (WHAT? HOW? Sewing fresh leaves together is WAY harder than sewing cloth). These communities were very small and very short lived, in contrast to what is represented in this book.
Another “huh, what?” clothing moment accrued when a man’s shoes both fell off while he was climbing down a tree. Has the author ever looked at nineteenth century boots? How would they just fall off when they are laced? If this story is supposed to take place in the 18th century with strapped shoes, then surely the person in question would have left his shoes on the ground if they were that loose that they could fall off while climbing.
I found it very confusing for the first quarter of the book to figure out what was going on —and halfway in I was still confused who was who—because every chapter shifts to a different narrator.
I noticed a mention of swamp angels, which reminded me of one of the best children’s books of all time: Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs.
I also noticed the author repeated the very untrue myth that moss always grows on the north side of a tree so you can tell your direction. Nope.
I didn’t understand why the author chose to make most of the white people in the book crudely ignorant and stupid jokes of human beings. In reality, white slave owners ruled with immense and cruel power, and there was nothing funny about that at all. People rich enough to own more than a couple slaves were in the tiny minority and extremely wealthy, and would have behaved like aristocracy.
I tried to force myself to finish this book, but I just couldn’t handle the group of CHILDREN setting off for a multiple-day journey to raid a plantation and rescue other slaves without telling any adults. Why Homer felt the need to keep this a secret was completely beyond me, given that he only managed to survive his original escape attempt by the help of a highly capable adult. I just couldn’t handle this fantasy any more. I guess I have to say it once more: slavery was TERRIFYINGLY VIOLENT and not a game for children to play at rescue.
More problematic, the author also has scene after scene of a slave girl doing acts of resistance that are very easily spottable: putting raw meat in a sock in a knapsack so it will stink, burning and ruining the supper for the white slave holders… if any slave had done one of these things, they would have been punished. To do them repeatedly, they would have been whipped within an inch of their life or outright killed, or sent to a “slave breaker” who would torture them into submission, or “sold south” to be worked to death on a harsher plantation. Slavery was entirely based on violence. Yes, slaves resisted in small ways all the time, such as slowing down their work. But outright and obvious acts that would have annoyed the slave holders were not tolerated in any fashion.
On a related note, the character who sends burning arrows into plantation to burn down barns? He would have been hunted to extinction very quickly, and every slave on the plantation he targeted would have been punished. It would not have been something that he could have done repeatedly, nor would he have done so, given that so many other slaves would have been punished on his behalf. These are examples of why this book exasperated me and felt like a fantasy: slavery was terrifying and physically and mentally horrific. It was not a game of slave against master in which outright resistance was a clever game to be played freely.
Why does the author keep using bows and arrows? There is no mention of her fictional community having American Indian members or ancestry (although that would have been historically possible and a choice she could have made to include). Bows and arrows as a toy is a completely modern concept, and the black slaves in this book would not have known how to make functional bows and arrows without instruction as it was not a weapon used in North America except by indigenous people. Furthermore, she has them repeatedly use burning arrows for no good reason while building a rope bridge (the whole “tree people” and “sky bridge” chapters of this book are also fantasy, in my opinion). When fire is your daily source of heat and cooking flame, you gain a lot of respect for how dangerous it is and how it must be carefully handled. But in her fantasy world, matches—not flint stones—are repeatedly used to make burning arrows (and of course one of the children plays with burning arrows and burns down their corn field and several houses).
Yes, there were a few small communities of blacks who managed to live freely in the midst of slavery such as the author has take a central role in this book. But they survived by trading clandestinely with slaves on plantations and raising their own food, not by wearing fur and leather sewn with vines (NOT A THING) in the hot and humid south (face palm) or a wedding dress made of fresh leaves (WHAT? HOW? Sewing fresh leaves together is WAY harder than sewing cloth). These communities were very small and very short lived, in contrast to what is represented in this book.
Another “huh, what?” clothing moment accrued when a man’s shoes both fell off while he was climbing down a tree. Has the author ever looked at nineteenth century boots? How would they just fall off when they are laced? If this story is supposed to take place in the 18th century with strapped shoes, then surely the person in question would have left his shoes on the ground if they were that loose that they could fall off while climbing.
I found it very confusing for the first quarter of the book to figure out what was going on —and halfway in I was still confused who was who—because every chapter shifts to a different narrator.
I noticed a mention of swamp angels, which reminded me of one of the best children’s books of all time: Swamp Angel by Anne Isaacs.
I also noticed the author repeated the very untrue myth that moss always grows on the north side of a tree so you can tell your direction. Nope.
I didn’t understand why the author chose to make most of the white people in the book crudely ignorant and stupid jokes of human beings. In reality, white slave owners ruled with immense and cruel power, and there was nothing funny about that at all. People rich enough to own more than a couple slaves were in the tiny minority and extremely wealthy, and would have behaved like aristocracy.
I tried to force myself to finish this book, but I just couldn’t handle the group of CHILDREN setting off for a multiple-day journey to raid a plantation and rescue other slaves without telling any adults. Why Homer felt the need to keep this a secret was completely beyond me, given that he only managed to survive his original escape attempt by the help of a highly capable adult. I just couldn’t handle this fantasy any more. I guess I have to say it once more: slavery was TERRIFYINGLY VIOLENT and not a game for children to play at rescue.
March 3, 2022
Great story great idea!! Mixed on the application of the idea.
Overall, I found the book to be way too long. This would’ve been a great story written in verse. There was so much action and internal dialogue that a verse story would’ve been perfect.
There was also a lot of characters with really only one or two well developed. The rest just kind of existed but they played some pretty serious roles in the story, so that was confusing to have important characters with very little depth.
I really enjoyed reading about the people who escaped the plantation, Homer Ada etc… but didn’t really care for Sanzi. She was a pretty underdeveloped unimposing character that was, arguably, the second most important.
At the end there’s some weird random romance thrown in that was a pretty unnecessary and lazily added detail. It didn’t fit at all with the rest of the story.
Overall, great plot and great story. I absolutely loved the premise. Just bad writing.
Overall, I found the book to be way too long. This would’ve been a great story written in verse. There was so much action and internal dialogue that a verse story would’ve been perfect.
There was also a lot of characters with really only one or two well developed. The rest just kind of existed but they played some pretty serious roles in the story, so that was confusing to have important characters with very little depth.
I really enjoyed reading about the people who escaped the plantation, Homer Ada etc… but didn’t really care for Sanzi. She was a pretty underdeveloped unimposing character that was, arguably, the second most important.
At the end there’s some weird random romance thrown in that was a pretty unnecessary and lazily added detail. It didn’t fit at all with the rest of the story.
Overall, great plot and great story. I absolutely loved the premise. Just bad writing.
March 27, 2022
Freewater is a mythical place of freedom. It is the name of a place of refuge and safety for runaway slaves, a safe community, built by successful runaways to sustain themselves and others, as they escape and are rescued. It has its own form of government, with patrols for security, a food supply, like corn, in addition to what nature provides with berries, acorns and water, and it thrives, well hidden, deep in the swamp. This marvelous novel dramatically tells a story about slavery that will introduce children to its terrors and injustices, so they can understand its evil, but it also teaches them about a possible resistance movement that developed among the slaves, that surely did exist, but that little is known about. It teaches them about respecting each other and the environment, it shows just what can be accomplished with honest hard work, when there is mutual respect for each other.
Using an imaginary plantation called Southerland, the way in which slave owners abused their slaves, treating them inhumanely, as property to be used in any way they chose, as if they had no value except for the work they performed, the author has illustrated the magnitude of the injustice done to these captured people, people who never ceased to hope to escape from bondage, to find their families from whom they were separated as they were sold off, and to travel north to freedom. Only the barest minimum of creature comforts were supplied to them. If they failed to perform their tasks, or showed any disrespect, real or imagined by an overseer or an owner, they were severely, cruelly punished. Those who tried to escape were tracked, and when caught, they were subjected to barbaric retribution for their disobedience. They were owned and had monetary value, nothing more. If they could not perform, they had no value. If they left, the owner felt robbed. Although they were forced to work in the homes of their masters, under the direst of circumstances, in their fields and in their kitchens, doing whatever job was assigned to them, they never stopped dreaming of their families and their independence.
When a slave cook, Rose, makes a run for it with her son Homer and her daughter Ada, the story takes a harrowing turn of events. As they run through the swamp, avoiding the dangers there, the snakes, mud holes that would swallow them, other wild creatures that might be there, traps that were set, slave catchers and dogs, Homer realizes that they had left his friend Anna behind; his mom returns to get her. She insists that twelve-year-old Homer continues onward to safety, with his younger sister, Ada, an impetuous, talkative little girl. Unfortunately, Rose is recaptured and severely beaten. Homer and Ada, however, are rescued by Suleman, the “superhero” of this tale, who appears to fly down from a tree. He leads them to the secret swamp colony called Freewater, a well-hidden place of safety for escaping slaves.
In Freewater, there are children who have never seen a plantation, who were born free and have never seen a white face, who are playing and laughing and running about happily. The children are amazed. These escaped, free, former slaves, are farming the land, protecting themselves, and taking from the environment what nature provides. They try to give back to the environment what they are able to return to nature, as well. They plant and harvest their own crops. They abuse nothing, not their surroundings or their fellow community members. They create a community with rules and standards based on mutual respect and they honor each other. They provide security and sustenance in complete harmony. The swamp provides the food, materials for clothing, and shelter for them all. When danger is signaled, they all come together to fight it. Everyone participates equally.
Homer and Ada are welcomed into the community with open arms, and they are trained in survival techniques. They learn how to weave ropes and make sky bridges. They discover the “far patrols”, people who look like trees because they are festooned with branches and leaves, who provide security as lookouts as they sit high in the branches of the trees, far above the settlement, watching their surroundings and warning them if danger approaches. Homer and Ada have never known such freedom and independence. They feel safe, but, in spite of this, Homer misses his mother. He is troubled by guilt because she was recaptured because of him. He is obsessed with the idea of returning to the plantation to rescue her and his friend, Anna. His mother had never come to find him, as he had hoped, because she always had before they had escaped.
When he recognizes another escapee from the plantation, Two Shoes, whom he never trusted, he spies on him and finds a map in his shoe that can take him back to the plantation. He wonders what Two shoes is up to. He has left his wife and child behind at Southerland. Is he willing to betray Freewater and its people, in order to save them? After a terrible fire in the corn fields, Two Shoes disappears. Did he die in the fire? Homer thinks not. When Homer leaves to find his mother, he plans to deal with him, as well.
Each of the characters has a story to tell. Nora is the mute daughter of Master Crumbs, who finds her voice when she discovers her own courage and ability to act to bring about justice. She attempts to help a slave she loves. She does not feel as if she belongs on the plantation as she witnesses the cruelty to the slaves, doled out by her own family. Will she be a future activist for justice?
Anna, Homer’s friend, wants to search for her mother from whom she was separated. Ferdinand has no parents to return to, and Sanzi wants to be a hero like Suleman and often makes impetuous dangerous judgments which cause terrible consequences. She and Ferdinand compete with each other to be the strongest. Sanzi and Juna are the daughters of Ms. Light, the community leader. David, their father, is very brave. Billy doesn’t believe he has any courage but finds it when it is needed. He really admires Juna. Daria and Billy’s dad, Ibra, meet and marry in Freewater.
The finale of the story is very exciting as a small group of children attempts to rescue Homer’s family. The themes of endurance and courage are front and center. The children are like all children, sometimes making foolish decisions as they learn responsibility. They keep secrets from the adults and each other, out of guilt or jealousy or immaturity or sometimes, necessity. Sometimes their actions have dangerous consequences. However, they overcome their fears, to do the right thing, and even, sometimes, set an example for some of the adults.
So you see, there are so many characters and so many character traits that any child can identify with, regardless of their color, as they learn about the crime of slavery, a long time before the Emancipation Proclamation Of President Abraham Lincoln who is not mentioned in the book. The story promises to be a teaching moment and requires discussion and elaboration as it is read. It needs honest and sincere explanations, and not excuses, about the behavior of each character that is written about on these pages. It requires the truth to be told.
Slavery is a stain on our history, and this middle grade novel explores it well. It paints a realistic picture of the life a slave was forced to endure, with all of the burdens, dreams and suffering, in bold relief. It illustrates their yearning to be free.
Using an imaginary plantation called Southerland, the way in which slave owners abused their slaves, treating them inhumanely, as property to be used in any way they chose, as if they had no value except for the work they performed, the author has illustrated the magnitude of the injustice done to these captured people, people who never ceased to hope to escape from bondage, to find their families from whom they were separated as they were sold off, and to travel north to freedom. Only the barest minimum of creature comforts were supplied to them. If they failed to perform their tasks, or showed any disrespect, real or imagined by an overseer or an owner, they were severely, cruelly punished. Those who tried to escape were tracked, and when caught, they were subjected to barbaric retribution for their disobedience. They were owned and had monetary value, nothing more. If they could not perform, they had no value. If they left, the owner felt robbed. Although they were forced to work in the homes of their masters, under the direst of circumstances, in their fields and in their kitchens, doing whatever job was assigned to them, they never stopped dreaming of their families and their independence.
When a slave cook, Rose, makes a run for it with her son Homer and her daughter Ada, the story takes a harrowing turn of events. As they run through the swamp, avoiding the dangers there, the snakes, mud holes that would swallow them, other wild creatures that might be there, traps that were set, slave catchers and dogs, Homer realizes that they had left his friend Anna behind; his mom returns to get her. She insists that twelve-year-old Homer continues onward to safety, with his younger sister, Ada, an impetuous, talkative little girl. Unfortunately, Rose is recaptured and severely beaten. Homer and Ada, however, are rescued by Suleman, the “superhero” of this tale, who appears to fly down from a tree. He leads them to the secret swamp colony called Freewater, a well-hidden place of safety for escaping slaves.
In Freewater, there are children who have never seen a plantation, who were born free and have never seen a white face, who are playing and laughing and running about happily. The children are amazed. These escaped, free, former slaves, are farming the land, protecting themselves, and taking from the environment what nature provides. They try to give back to the environment what they are able to return to nature, as well. They plant and harvest their own crops. They abuse nothing, not their surroundings or their fellow community members. They create a community with rules and standards based on mutual respect and they honor each other. They provide security and sustenance in complete harmony. The swamp provides the food, materials for clothing, and shelter for them all. When danger is signaled, they all come together to fight it. Everyone participates equally.
Homer and Ada are welcomed into the community with open arms, and they are trained in survival techniques. They learn how to weave ropes and make sky bridges. They discover the “far patrols”, people who look like trees because they are festooned with branches and leaves, who provide security as lookouts as they sit high in the branches of the trees, far above the settlement, watching their surroundings and warning them if danger approaches. Homer and Ada have never known such freedom and independence. They feel safe, but, in spite of this, Homer misses his mother. He is troubled by guilt because she was recaptured because of him. He is obsessed with the idea of returning to the plantation to rescue her and his friend, Anna. His mother had never come to find him, as he had hoped, because she always had before they had escaped.
When he recognizes another escapee from the plantation, Two Shoes, whom he never trusted, he spies on him and finds a map in his shoe that can take him back to the plantation. He wonders what Two shoes is up to. He has left his wife and child behind at Southerland. Is he willing to betray Freewater and its people, in order to save them? After a terrible fire in the corn fields, Two Shoes disappears. Did he die in the fire? Homer thinks not. When Homer leaves to find his mother, he plans to deal with him, as well.
Each of the characters has a story to tell. Nora is the mute daughter of Master Crumbs, who finds her voice when she discovers her own courage and ability to act to bring about justice. She attempts to help a slave she loves. She does not feel as if she belongs on the plantation as she witnesses the cruelty to the slaves, doled out by her own family. Will she be a future activist for justice?
Anna, Homer’s friend, wants to search for her mother from whom she was separated. Ferdinand has no parents to return to, and Sanzi wants to be a hero like Suleman and often makes impetuous dangerous judgments which cause terrible consequences. She and Ferdinand compete with each other to be the strongest. Sanzi and Juna are the daughters of Ms. Light, the community leader. David, their father, is very brave. Billy doesn’t believe he has any courage but finds it when it is needed. He really admires Juna. Daria and Billy’s dad, Ibra, meet and marry in Freewater.
The finale of the story is very exciting as a small group of children attempts to rescue Homer’s family. The themes of endurance and courage are front and center. The children are like all children, sometimes making foolish decisions as they learn responsibility. They keep secrets from the adults and each other, out of guilt or jealousy or immaturity or sometimes, necessity. Sometimes their actions have dangerous consequences. However, they overcome their fears, to do the right thing, and even, sometimes, set an example for some of the adults.
So you see, there are so many characters and so many character traits that any child can identify with, regardless of their color, as they learn about the crime of slavery, a long time before the Emancipation Proclamation Of President Abraham Lincoln who is not mentioned in the book. The story promises to be a teaching moment and requires discussion and elaboration as it is read. It needs honest and sincere explanations, and not excuses, about the behavior of each character that is written about on these pages. It requires the truth to be told.
Slavery is a stain on our history, and this middle grade novel explores it well. It paints a realistic picture of the life a slave was forced to endure, with all of the burdens, dreams and suffering, in bold relief. It illustrates their yearning to be free.
July 20, 2024
Taking place in the southeast during the slavery era between the early 1600s to the mid-1800s, it centers on two child slave siblings who escaped their plantation. During their suspenseful travels, they discover a community deep in a swamp of free slaves that they’ll meet new people and keep it from danger.
For a children’s novel that focuses on the tough topic of slavery, it has a story that is so touching, intense and even powerful at times. While I think it has a couple too many characters that contribute to the book’s narrative, it doesn’t stop “Freewater” from being an interesting historical tale. A- (91%/Excellent)
For a children’s novel that focuses on the tough topic of slavery, it has a story that is so touching, intense and even powerful at times. While I think it has a couple too many characters that contribute to the book’s narrative, it doesn’t stop “Freewater” from being an interesting historical tale. A- (91%/Excellent)
November 23, 2022
I always enjoy learning about historical people and places I didn't know about before. I'd never heard of maroon communities, so I found the subject of FREEWATER absolutely fascinating. Luqman-Dawson includes some vivid details that make the community of runaway slaves come alive. Its residents are sympathetic and likable, which creates an interesting setting for the story. Unfortunately, the novel is severely lacking in plot and, therefore, in focused action. The tale meanders on and on and on and on without really getting anywhere. At 399 pages, FREEWATER is already long for a middle-grade book. Without much action, it gets boring really fast. I almost gave up on it several times, but I made myself persevere. I just don't think young readers will do the same. Parts of the novel are engaging; too much of it, though, is a long, dull slog. The subject of FREEWATER intrigues me so much that I wanted to really love this novel. Because it was so incredibly slow, it turned out to be only an average read for me. Bummer.
June 19, 2023
I learned quite a lot about communities of runaway slaves in the South while reading this as I was frequently motivated to look up information. I became so invested in these characters and their home in the trees that once I hit the 50% mark, I could not put this down.
I do think the dramatic events at the end of this book may be a little frightening for younger children, however this would lead to great discussions with older kids.
Newbery Medal -2023
I do think the dramatic events at the end of this book may be a little frightening for younger children, however this would lead to great discussions with older kids.
Newbery Medal -2023
June 8, 2025
A bit too much "magical realism" for this topic I think. It doesn't sell the gravity of the actual time period enough.
March 10, 2023
I had never head of maroon communities in the South before and while this story is loosely based on them I found it really interesting. The middle of the story kind of dragged for me, but the ending was a quick read.
February 13, 2023
This is a fictional story of those slaves who escaped and made homes in swampland, based on some truths, though little is really known of the details. Not new to me is the terrifying cruelty, but the love and help given so others may live is an inspiration. Escape to freedom feels like the underlying theme, hence the title. I know people don't give kids enough credit for being the smart, thoughtful, brave, and kind people they can be. In the wilderness of the swampland, Homer and little sister Ada take off for freedom and find a homeland like nothing they had dreamed of: families ready to take them in, new friends ready to guide and help them, and a kind of peace they've never known. Amina Luqman-Dawson's book fills readers with characters one is thrilled to meet who are varied in experience and temperament, too, and with such courage, readers will want to applaud. It's a plot that makes you race on to find out what will happen next, to care so much for the character's safety and welfare. I imagine you know that Amina Luqman-Dawson won the Newbery Medal this year for this, her debut novel. It is marvelous!
April 2, 2023
This Newbery and Coretta Scott King Award Winning book read more like a fantasy to me than it did historical fiction. Based on the swamplands where some slaves escaped going south, I felt like the entire time I was reading about a fantasy land - that included people who had been born in the swamp, never seen a white person or the violence of slavery, and who could find food anywhere, shoot arrows straight, aim a slingshot with precision, and even create bridges between trees high up in the sky. I loved this book full of hope and resilience, even if at times I was so nervous for the choice the kids made.
August 19, 2022
I bailed after 75% of it. It's just very aimless, with a lot of random hard-to-follow kid musings that are not related to one another. And the overall theme and setting of the book feels very irrelevant to the general concerns of the main characters. I had a hard time following what was going on pretty often, the characters seemed unreal (not in a fantasy, child fiction way, but in a they are just not logical at all kind of way) and things just didn't tie together well.
February 8, 2023
I honestly do not know why this won the Newbery Award. While the storyline is fascinating, there are two many subplots, characters and the book is way too long to have kept my interest.
February 24, 2023
3.5 Beautiful writing, I can see why it won the Newbery award. The author did a remarkable job of creating a realistic but not overly heavy degree of violence and fear to appropriately depict the era for a young audience. Slavery was a painful institution and so reading about it, while good for me, is unpleasant.
March 8, 2024
1000000000% this deserved the Newbery. Fantastic.
February 25, 2023
I loved this year's Newbery , and I can't wait to share it with my students.
July 25, 2025
A culture of extraordinary resistance
As it happens, I read Freewater not long after reading Octavia E. Butler's classic Kindred. Although they are very different books, comparisons are irresistible. Both depict the lives of slaves on an antebellum southern plantation. Kindred is not a fun book. The characters repeatedly experience dehumanizing brutality and degradation. Amina Luqman-Dawson's Freewater, in contrast, *IS* a fun book, and yes, I enjoyed it. Of course, Freewater is targeted (and well targeted, in my opinion) at middle-grade children. How does Luqman-Dawson write a book about the experience of slavery that a ten-year-old kid can have fun reading?
You would guess that she softens the depiction. You would be right, but only a little. For instance, a certain racial epithet that appears 56 times in Kindred is absent from Freewater. And certain horrors of the treatment of slaves that are not suitable for young kids remain unmentioned. However, Luqman-Dawson's depiction of slavery is not gentle. Violence and degradation are there on the page.
Her main strategy, though, is to show slaves and their children resisting. She uses the true story of the maroons for this purpose. In "A Note from Amina" she describes
"A Note from Amina" ends with these words,
Blog review.
As it happens, I read Freewater not long after reading Octavia E. Butler's classic Kindred. Although they are very different books, comparisons are irresistible. Both depict the lives of slaves on an antebellum southern plantation. Kindred is not a fun book. The characters repeatedly experience dehumanizing brutality and degradation. Amina Luqman-Dawson's Freewater, in contrast, *IS* a fun book, and yes, I enjoyed it. Of course, Freewater is targeted (and well targeted, in my opinion) at middle-grade children. How does Luqman-Dawson write a book about the experience of slavery that a ten-year-old kid can have fun reading?
You would guess that she softens the depiction. You would be right, but only a little. For instance, a certain racial epithet that appears 56 times in Kindred is absent from Freewater. And certain horrors of the treatment of slaves that are not suitable for young kids remain unmentioned. However, Luqman-Dawson's depiction of slavery is not gentle. Violence and degradation are there on the page.
Her main strategy, though, is to show slaves and their children resisting. She uses the true story of the maroons for this purpose. In "A Note from Amina" she describes
...those who found refuge deep in the swamps and forests of the American South and even began secret communities. Research and historical literature refer to these secret communities as “maroon communities” and the people who resided in them as “maroons.”Her fictional swamp town of Freewater is such a community. Some characters of the novel are members of the Freewater community and some are residents of a nearby plantation. The story is told from the points of view of many of these characters. The chapters told by Homer, a twelve-year-old runaway slave boy, are in the first person, thus making him the central character.
"A Note from Amina" ends with these words,
This history is a reminder that wherever African enslavement existed in the Americas, a culture (and even communities) of extraordinary resistance was always present.This focus on fighting back works! Bizarre though it sounds, Freewater is a fun story about slavery suitable for kids.
Blog review.
February 8, 2024
Freewater is an incredibly powerful story that takes place in the past when plantations and slavery were a reality for the United States. There are different protagonists in the story and each one offers a unique voice and personality. The main story centers around Homer and his sister Ada. They escape the Southerland plantation, but Homer’s mother Ruth gets captured. Once in the swamp, Suleman rescues Homer and Ada and introduces them to a hidden village created by formerly enslaved people. The village is called “Freewater.” Sky bridges made from rope help the people travel safely above the ground where they cannot be seen or caught by slave owners or militia. Homer, who feels guilty, is determined to rescue his mother, and makes plans to return to Southerland plantation to rescue her. When his new friends (Sanzi, Billy & Juna) learn of this, they help Homer organize a rescue. It has a happy ending. If you love historical fiction and books with well written protagonists, this book is for you. Freewater received the Newbery and Coretta Scott King Award.... so you know it is a must-read book.
Themes: African American culture, Black history, friendship, courage, family, perseverance, loyalty
Age range: 10 and up
Themes: African American culture, Black history, friendship, courage, family, perseverance, loyalty
Age range: 10 and up
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