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October 2026 - Graciela in the Abyss
By Kristen · 4 posts · 57 views
By Kristen · 4 posts · 57 views
last updated Nov 12, 2025 09:15AM
What Members Thought
Will’s father was born a slave. Will was born free. Will’s father does not feel the freedom of working the land as a share cropper. When he hears of the land stakes in Oklahoma he and Will leave Will’s mother and grandfather in Louisiana and set out with their mule on breakneck and dangerous adventure.
This book does a good job of keeping the action front and foremost in the narrative. And it is blessedly short, I don’t mean that in a negative way. I’m happy to see that more quality books seem to ...more
This book does a good job of keeping the action front and foremost in the narrative. And it is blessedly short, I don’t mean that in a negative way. I’m happy to see that more quality books seem to ...more
A really good addition to our historical perspectives of a time period, this novel does an excellent job of examining the impacts of slavery, including emotional, economic and social on three generations of a family. Using Will's perspective allows the author to present the issues in a simple enough way for child readers to understand, but the author also includes enough characters to show multiple experiences and perspectives. Some of the issues faced by Will, including the strained relationshi
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Not my favorite. The story takes place during the Oklahoma land rush. Will travels with his father who was a slave to claim property for his family. He is resilient and over comes hardship. They meet up with a former Black Civil War soldier who also becomes their friend and help each other.
This is not for the faint of heart! Like the Oregon Trail game I played in elementary school, the journey Will and his father take is full of dangers. There are natural dangers like fording a river and man-made dangers like thieving gunslingers. I’m not a big fan of violence and manliness as themes, but I can appreciate that this was very well done and will appeal to middle schoolers who are interested in American history and survival stories.
3.5 stars.
Feb 23, 2025
Debbie Jo
marked it as to-read
Aug 05, 2025
Chris
marked it as to-read
