River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

This book is about a former slave named Rachel who runs away from a plantation to search for her children who were taken away from her. The Emancipation Act of 1834 supposedly freed the slaves in the British held islands of the Caribbean, but the slaveholders found a way to circumvent that: by labeling them apprentices and refusing to free them. Rachel finds a way to leave and starts her journey to find her children. From Barbados to Georgetown to finally Trinidad Rachel and eventually her daughter Mary Grace search for their family. Mary Grace is found in Barbados and accompanies her mother in her search for her siblings and she finds love on the way. Rachel searches for answers, even though some are not what she expected or hoped for. Each of her children experienced hardship and tragedy, one even forging a new life for herself based on lies about where she came from. This story is well written and moving especially toward the end. Rachel and her family have to deal with grief and danger hunts them through the story. This is based on the author’s family experience during the time period it is placed and that adds an interesting element to the story.    Content warnings: there are mentions of rape no details, a whipping some violence mentions of miscarriages  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #fiction #historicalfiction  #history