Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away; Young Readers Edition by Kathleen Van Cleve, Erica Armstrong Dunbar

2 reviews

shoshin's review against another edition

adventurous sad medium-paced

4.5

This is a good book to introduce children to some tough parts of our history. Be warned, it does explain, though not explicitly, what rape is and some of the torture that enslavers inflicted on the enslaved (whipping, beating, etc.). It also explains very well in a very understandable way what emotional labor is (without using the term) and how the enslaved were expected to do physical and emotional labor for their enslavers. Finally, it occasionally ventures into speculation in ways that might not be clear to young readers, though mostly it handles the speculation well (by saying things like, "we can't know what happened here, but it could have been X or Y"). Choose what kinds of conversations your kids are ready for accordingly. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Torture and Rape

spacerkip's review

informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

This is honestly the first book I've ever read that doesn't compartmentalize George Washington, founding father and first president of the United States, and George Washington, slave owner. Though aimed at children and middle-grade readers, the writing never backs down from the complicated and horrific nature of slavery and how it shaped early American history. It mentions both well-known white lawmakers and members of the early government as well as prominent Black artists, writers, and abolitionists from the time. Many of the latter I had never heard of before, and am very excited to use this book as a jumping-off point for further reading. Definitely a must-have for the classroom.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Racism, Misogyny, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault