A story of slavery, set in the backdrop of the American Civil War. This book is not just about the darkness and brutality of the Reconstruction period, but community and hope.
Samuel is a smart boy, a good boy, raised in an orphanage in Middle Creek. So, when the priest demands a boy to take the blame, Samuel sacrifices everything to save the brother he loves.
Now, sold into slavery, Samuel is not his name anymore. Sent to work on a plantation in the Deep South, he sets on a mission for his faith, his freedom and his family. But, the sound of gunfire is never far away and the fingers of war grasp at everything in their reach.
I read this book breathlessly, finishing it with heavy eyes and a bed scattered with tissues. It strikes an emotional chord, addressing a subject not many YA authors are brave enough to breach. We’ve heard the story of slavery before, in heart wrenching autobiographies, such as Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs, and 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. Admittedly, Walter draws from both these accounts, yet, instead of detracting from his work or making it unoriginal, his research gives this book a whole new perspective. He tells his story in first person, uncovering the human truth and emotions, behind the facts and figures poured into the pages of history textbooks.
Samuel, our fantastically crafted protagonist, guides us through his journey of faith and doubt. Samuel believes that he is a missionary chosen by God; his faith shown through the optimistic light in which he sees humanity. Yet, slowly as the disaster of war creeps into his life, his disillusionment grows. Walter explores religion in a beautiful yet subtle way, as we see it used as a weapon to suppress African Americans into chains and as a beacon of hope and salvation.
Walter perfectly captures the dialect of the time and the voice of Samuel never falters. Within a few chapters he becomes as familiar as an old friend, so, at points of human cruelty, I wanted nothing more than to reach into the book and help. Yet, as a reader we are powerless to change his story, the horrors in this book, perhaps, tying into how Samuel begins to confront his belief in an interventionist God.
One of my favourite themes in this book, was actually more of a minor one. Reading- something I have always taken for granted- becomes a symbol of power and is used by the white elite to justify the inequality. Yet, as Samuel teaches the slaves to read (and with the Yankees moving South) the distribution of power begins to shift. Books, education and information: all tools against oppression.
Overall, an emotive and poignant tale, depicting a bloody evolution in society through the eyes of a boy, who struggles, nearly as much as we do, to comprehend just what’s going on.
My Name’s not Friday by Jon Walter, longlisted for the Guardian children’s fiction prize 2015, is available from the Guardian bookshop.
Congratulations to Cara Exall, aged 16, for her Young Critics award 2015-winning review. Cara is also a member of the Guardian children’s books site under the site name CaraErica.
