From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

Someone Knows My Name

Lawrence Hill

Start date: June 15, 2012

Finish date: June 15, 2012

Discussion: Reading List

Discussion leader: Sherry

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Reading List

* The Schedule for July through Dec. 2025
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last updated Jun 20, 2025 08:37AM

Nominations list for January - June 2026
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What Members Thought

Dec 12, 2008 Wilhelmina Jenkins rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, african-diaspora, historical-fiction

What an amazing book! The protagonist is spectacular - I don't think that I have ever identified so completely with a character in slavery. The author incorporates historical events which were new to me - always a plus. The story was so compelling and so true to human behavior. No group was all good or all bad, just human. I am just dazzled by this superb work. ...more

29 likes · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2009 Mary Anne rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club

This is an excellent book, and well worth reading.
It is the second book I've read in the last 6 months that dealt with slavery during the Revolutionary War period. The first was The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. Both novels featured Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of the Virginia colony, who promised slaves that they would be made free if they fought with and worked for the British against the rebels. The rebels, of course, were white property owners who were fighting against British ty ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2008 Dulcie Pavuluri rated it it was amazing

Amazing so far!!! And Amazing until the end...one of the best reads I have ever had. One that makes you think and draws you in with great characters and scenes. Can't tell you much without spilling the whole story but it feels real and I had to remind myself it was fiction the whole time...based in history but still not totally true. Read it if you want something other than fluff! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 21, 2008 William rated it really liked it

Because some exterior and mostly interior dialogue did not ring especially true (21st century notions in 18th century minds) and a contrived "happy" ending that were the only false notes did I not give this book 5 stars. But these quibbles are so minor that I can see myself coming back to upgrade as the books strengths resonate in the weeks to come. An amazing book. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2010 Diane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2010, fiction, history

Every once in a while a book touches me, and I read till I have finished it. I started last night and finished this evening, because I had to know everything about this wonderful, courageous lady. The author did a wonderful job of bringing Meena alive for me. I dont give out a lot of 5 star ratings, but this one deserves it. I will highly recommend this book.

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2009 William rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

Very good. Dickensian or maybe Victor Hugoish in the sense that it lacks humour. The story winds from Africa to America and back to Africa before finishing in England. Told in the first person by an unlikely slave who is not only strong but more literate that her captors. This makes her a plausible narator but also heightens the injustice of the story - her intelligence and nobility stand in stark contrast to the so-called civilized slave owners.
If I feel anything lacking in the story, it is a m ...more

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Oct 31, 2009 Kat (A Journey In Reading) rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-books, read-in-2010, kindle, historical-fiction, favorites

Aminata is 11, she has just seen things that no 11 year old should see. She is then chained, stripped, and forced to walk for 3 months to an awaiting ship bound for America. She now has to learn how to survive.

This was a really wonderful story. It involves heartache, happiness, horror, and everything in between. Aminata may have been born free in her village in Africa, but she quickly becomes a slave. She learns to read and write and becomes the voice of other slaves that she meets and ones that ...more

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Jul 08, 2009 The Sassy Bookworm rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this novel a lot, written by a Canadian author, and based on "The Book of Negroes" which is a historical document that contains the names and descriptions of 3,000 men, women, and children who served the British during the American Revolutionary War and still survives to this day, it makes for a very compelling, powerful and interesting read. Though some of the book is similar to other stories about slavery and the slave trade, the Canadian connection was new to me, so I found t ...more

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