I didn't write this review as soon as I had finished this book as I needed time to process. This is quite the read. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson is a Young Adult novel that I think could easily have been an adult read except it is the story of a teen. Wow - having just seen the movie, Amazing Grace, I am feeling hit over the head by these "slavery" issues. This was not light reading - very heavy and very hard to read. I just can not fathom all that was done to slaves and then that people justified it as "helping" them or research. The book itself is very difficult reading - the writing is not contemporary, but I can see how it won a National Book Award - it is very powerful. The ending?? Well, it certainly leaves you ready for book #2 - now, it just better come out soon before I forget everything!!For another blogger that I couldn't agree more with go here.
One more point - I will not be having my twelve year old read this one for some time - it is Young Adult for good reason - it touches more than once on the female slave/slave master relationships that often happened - just a little more than I want my not-yet-teen to encounter, but for an older teen - it is handled appropriately.
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