A Mother’s Quest to Find Her Children.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Eleanor Shearer’s debut novel, River Sing Me Home, begins on the Providence sugar plantation in Barbados in 1834. The master announces the end of slavery, but the slaves must work as apprentices for another six years.

Rachel, born on the plantation, escapes in the dead of night to find her five children, sold away years ago. Her dangerous journey takes her from Barbados through the dense forests of British Guiana across the sea to Trinidad. Along the way, she receives help from former tobacco harvesters and runaway slaves.

In Bridgetown, Rachel reunites with her mute daughter, Mary Grace. They travel with a seaman named Nobody and an Akawaio Indian orphan named Nuno, navigating crocodile-infested rivers and the harsh realities of plantation life in Trinidad. Rachel finds her daughter Cherry Jane with a new upper-class identity, her son Thomas Augustus in a runaway slave encampment, and her pregnant daughter Mercy being whipped on a plantation.

Shearer has crafted a story based on real historical events and figures, offering readers an exploration of the Caribbean in the 1830s. Rachel’s story is heartbreaking and is an example of resilience and the power of the human spirit. Courageous women inspired the novel searching for their children but occasionally strains credulity with convenient coincidences and period inconsistencies. While the book didn’t fully grab me, it remains a powerful read.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a comp of this title. The opinions are my own.

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