Unbound: A Novel in Verse

by Ann E. Burg Narrated by Bahni Turpin

Overview

From the award-winning author of ALL THE BROKEN PIECES and SERAFINA'S PROMISE comes a new novel-in-verse that is a gripping, transcendent story about a little-known piece of slave history.

Grace has grown up in slavery. As difficult as life on the Virginia plantation is, at least she has her family: Momma, her younger brothers, Thomas and Willy, Aunt Sara, and Uncle Jim. When she overhears Master and Mistress plotting to sell her brothers, she and her family decide to run away that same night. But without time to plan their escape and go north along the Underground Railroad, their only choice is to head deep into the woods of the Dismal Swamp--a remote wilderness, filled with wild animals; daily searches for food, water, and shelter; and the ever present anxiety of being caught.

Historians have recently discovered evidence of the Dismal Swamp, and a community of slaves who sought refuge there. Ann Burg's unflinching story, written in her signature luminous verse, sheds light on this little-known story and the courage of a people who risked everything for the chance to be free.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

07/18/2016
Written in clipped verse, Burg’s third novel, after All the Broken Pieces and Serafina’s Promise, follows nine-year-old Grace, who is called up from the slave cabins to work in the Big House. Grace’s mother warns her to keep her eyes down and her mouth shut, but her youth and strong sense of morality and fairness make it difficult to bite her tongue: “I wonder why/ Master n the Missus/ get to eat right early/ in the morning/ n them what’s been workin/ got to wait till/ the midday bell.” When Grace talks back to the Missus, causing her mother and younger brothers to be sent to the auction block, Grace and her family flee the plantation and go deep, seeking refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp. Based on historical events and an actual refuge for escaped slaves, the family’s journey through the swamp is harrowing, yet Burg’s colloquial verse gives Grace a strong, distinct voice, allowing her emotion and determination to shine. Grace’s story of familial love, community, and hope is a moving, sensitive read. Ages 9–12. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

Awards and Praise for Unbound:

Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for Middle Readers, Honor Book

Christopher Award, Books for Young People

Awards and Praise for All the Broken Pieces:

Jefferson Cup award winner

Booklist Editors' Choice

ALA Best Books for Young Adults

IRA Notable Book for a Global Society

ALA Popular Paperback for Young Adults

*"[A] stirring debut novel . . . will make readers want to rush to the end and then return to the beginning again to make connections between past, present, friends and enemies."—Booklist, starred review

*"The verse form carries highly charged emotions and heavy content with elegiac simplicity." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"Using spare free verse, first-time novelist Burg beautifully evokes the emotions of a Vietnamese adoptee as he struggles to come to terms with his past." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"...the story is a lovely, moving one." —School Library Journal

Awards and Praise for Serafina's Promise:

Starred review from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal

Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Parents' Choice Gold Award winner

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

New York Public Library 100 Books for Giving and Sharing

The Herald-Sun Wilde Award for Longer books, Middle grade novel

Cybils Awards Finalists, Middle Grade Fiction

NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Literary Work-Youth/Teens nominee

ALA Notable Book

ALA Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

Michigan Great Lakes Great Books Award nominee

Bank Street College Children's Book Committee - Best Children's Books of the Year

Américas Award, Commended Title

Kansas' William Allen White Award

"Serafina's dreams are challenged by poverty, flood, and earthquake, but her tenacious spirit hangs on through it all. The grace of the Haitian people is revealed in Burg's poetic language, the vastness of Haiti's needs apparent in the details of Serafina's world. Serafina's journey is one readers will find unsettling but, at the same time, rich with examples of true courage and dignity." —Karen Hesse, author of the Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust and Safekeeping

"Serafina is certainly a resilient and admirable character who will touch the hearts of many adults as well as children and put a human face on the poverty and tragedies of the Haitian people. Through this story, Ann extends the reputation she established with All the Broken Pieces." —Don Gallo

"Ann E. Burg has masterfully crafted a lovingly cadenced book in which, behind each gemlike story, another gemlike story rises, synchronizing poetically with the local landscape, where there is another mountain behind each mountain. Serafina's Promise, a fascinating poetic tale, a magic window that opens gently and brings to your heart the cultural richness and wonders of a fate-taunting nation." —Denize Lauture

School Library Journal - Audio

03/01/2017
Gr 4–8—Grace, age nine, is enslaved on a plantation with her mother, brothers, and stepfather. She tends the boys while the others work in the field, but now, because of her light skin, she has been called up to the big house. Grace promises her mother she will keep her eyes down and not speak what is on her mind, but she finds that nearly impossible, especially when the master's wife is cruel to both Grace and the slaves around her. Grace and her family are forced to flee after she breaks her promise, and face the dangers of the swamp. This novel in verse highlights a little-known hiding place of escaped slaves, the Great Dismal Swamp, which covers parts of Virginia and North Carolina. Burg gives voice to enslaved children and their heartbreaking stories. Bahni Turpin brings the tale alive with her narration, while occasional music adds atmosphere. An author's note at the end discusses the historical aspects. VERDICT This is a welcome addition to school and public library historical fiction collections. ["An ideal selection for classrooms and libraries and would incorporate easily into history and social studies curricula across a wide grade range, from upper elementary through middle school": SLJ 8/16 review of the Scholastic book.]—Elizabeth Elsbree, Krug Elementary School, Aurora, IL

School Library Journal

★ 08/01/2016
Gr 4–8—Grace is a light-skinned, blue-eyed slave who is called to work in "The Big House," leaving behind her family and friends in the fields. What she sees of the Master and Missus gives Grace even more motivation to escape, including Missus's decision to sell members of Grace's family at the auction block. Soon, Grace and her family flee to the Great Dismal Swamp and become "maroons" who survive independent of society. This is a historical novel in verse written in a Southern patois. Though some might find the language challenging, strong readers will appreciate the rhythmic flow of the poetry and the well-executed pacing. Shedding light on a period of U.S. history that is often ignored, Burg's portrayal of the Great Dismal Swamp and the runaways' sanctuary reads like a testimony—the book is, in fact, based on narratives of the formerly enslaved. VERDICT This is an ideal selection for classrooms and libraries and would incorporate easily into history and social studies curricula across a wide grade range, from upper elementary through middle school.—Shalini Miskelly, St. Benedict Catholic School, Seattle

DECEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

Narrator Bahni Turpin embraces the emotions of 9-year-old Grace while delivering the cadences of Burg’s novel in verse. Grace’s mother tries to prepare her daughter for working in the Big House, cautioning her to keep her eyes down and her mouth shut. But how can Grace’s mother truly ready her blue-eyed, light-skinned daughter for the hateful Missus? In depicting Grace’s encounters with the cold-hearted Missus, Turpin captures the child’s visceral fear. When the Missus decides to sell Grace’s family, Grace remembers what she heard growing up—“You hear ‘auction,’ ‘n’ you run!” As the family flees to the Great Dismal Swamp, Turpin dramatically portrays how Grace counters heartbreak with heroism and shame with a spirited sense of self. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2016-06-22
The author of Serafina's Promise (2013) returns with another lyrical novel in verse. When Grace turns 9, she is forced to leave the daily work of helping Aunt Sara tend her baby brothers and their garden, the daily joy of seeing Mama and Uncle Jim come home each night from the fields. Unlike the rest of her enslaved family, Grace has light skin and blue eyes. (The fact that her father must have been white, with all that implies, is never made explicit.) Her coloring—possibly light enough to pass—makes her more desirable for a house slave in the Missus' and Master's eyes, so Grace must work in the plantation kitchen and even serve at the table. The cook, Aunt Tempie, seems to bow to all of Missus' demands with a compliance Grace can't emulate—though Grace works hard, she sometimes lets her true feelings slip. Missus finally decides that "bringin Grace's family / to the auction block / might finally teach Grace / who she is and / where she belongs." Grace reacts with courage and resourcefulness, urging her family to flee to the swamps and ensuring they won't be caught. Told through Grace's eyes in Southern rhythms that approach dialect with a poet's careful sensibility, the story unfolds with a combination of historical precision, honesty, and adventure. Burg describes her research, based in part on narratives of the formerly enslaved collected by the Federal Writers Project, in the backmatter. Beautifully done. (Historical fiction. 9-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171233631
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/27/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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