Gigi Amateau

When Jenna's great-great-aunt Tannie breaks her ankle her mother becomes worried about her. Tannie lives on a large farm and has chickens. She has traveled all over the world and is a very active person. Jenna's mom is a nurse and knows how fragile her great-aunt's bones have become since she has gotten older. She and Jenna decided to have Tannie come and live with them. They prepare the house and try to convince Tannie she needs to move in with them. They go to bring her back over Spring Break and are able to convince her to move. She sells everything and moves in with them. But, it isn't as easy as just having someone move in with them.

I was able to relate to this simple book on such a large level. My mother lives with us. At first it wasn't so bad. She was very mobile and did a lot around the house so it felt like we all just lived together and shared the responsibilites. Then one day while we were gone she slipped and fell and broke both feet and her ankle. She is very resistant to some of our suggestions when we know it is for her best. In a lot of ways she has given up doing things we know she can do. As Tannie and her mom found out, there is a very delicate balance that has to be struck for everyone to live harmonioulsy. This is a great book to read any time, but especially if you have an older loved one who must come and live with you.… (mehr)

In the early 1800s, a young man named Gabriel organized a slave revolt in Virginia, which ultimately failed. Come August, Come Freedom is based on this true story, giving life to a man few know about today. The book includes excerpts from primary sources like letters and notices written at the time of these events. Mostly though, this is the story of Gabriel, his fierce love for freedom and his wife Nanny. He grew up as friends with a white master’s son who later proved a coward. Later Gabriel learned the blacksmith trade, like his father. He used this skill to make weapons for his failed revolt. Still, he came close to succeeding.
In many ways, this book is a love story. Gabriel’s relationship with Nanny is wonderfully portrayed here. Nanny is at the forefront of Gabriel’s thoughts from the moment they first meet in Richmond. Their love is strong and pure and serves as the emotional anchor of this book. Nanny is fierce in her own right, working alongside Gabriel on the Business (the code word used for the revolt). The book starts just after the end of the Revolutionary war and ends in 1804. This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn a bit more about this period in history.… (mehr)

I listened to this novel because it was paired with My Name is Not Friday. This novel is based on a real man - Gabriel.

After the Revolutionary War, America had slaves. Gabriel and many others believed that slavery wouldn’t last long, that the United States believed in all men. He was a smart man and refused to be treated as less than. As the novel progresses, the author uses primary sources revealing what was reported as well as opinions given at the time. Gabriel’s early life is a guess by the author because little is know about individual slaves at this time period. After he becomes a blacksmith in Richmond, more information is uncovered.

Gabriel falls in love with another slave, Nanny. He proposes and has a plan to earn enough money to buy her and then eventually get his freedom and they can be a free family, raising their own kids. Gabriel lets his temper take control when a white man makes a racist comment about Nanny. Gabriel ends up on trial and, as a black man, has little hope of justice. He is a smart man and uses a method to avoid the death penalty and instead be marked. He does marry Nanny, but his passion for his own and his people’s humanity keep him from being content as another man’s property. He is famous for spearheading a revolt with thousands of slaves to attack the white man. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond his control keep the revolt from being successful.

This novel celebrates Gabriel’s courage, passion, love and leadership that could only end in despair at such a moment in American history.… (mehr)