Wednesday, March 30, 2016

#15: Juba! by Walter Dean Myers

Juba! tells the real-life story of a free black man in 1800s New York with a notable talent for dance, whose rise to stardom begins when he is noticed by no less a person than Charles Dickens in Walter Dean Myers' interesting young adult novel.

I have been reading Myers since I was a young adult myself and still dip my toe into his work when something catches my eye.  Unfortunately this is Myers' last work, and was published posthumously.

I found Juba! to be nicely done but slight, although of interest to show the history and perception of race and race relations in that time period.

I listened to an audiobook version on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana, with a really good reading by Brandon Gill.

Juba! is worthwhile, but even more so I hope it introduces new readers to Myers' large and solid body of work.

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