Intrigued as it was a Newberry book and one that I had never heard of before, I had no prejudgments to go upon as I started to read The Slave Dancer. This book is dark and shows the cruelty of slavery which I found difficult for being a Newberry book. Sure, it was 1974 Newberry winner but some of the descriptions of the cruelty and the conditions the slaves were exposed to, should only be for the mature reader. The slaves do not have clothing or have minimum clothing and Jessie is taken back by this lack of apparel and this causes some emotional issues for him. I also should point out that some of the language used in the book you might need a dictionary for or be a strong reader. The word n***** is used quite frequently to describe the slaves and if not for being a mature reader, and for the author trying to make a point, some offense might be taken. The time frame was in the 1840’s and the majority of the book took place upon a slave ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Thirteen year old Jessie is kidnapped and forced to play his fife aboard a slave ship to keep the slaves healthy while they are being transported to market. Jessie has issues from the beginning but they only become more emotional as the book progresses and that is what I truly enjoyed about this book. Jessie has so many emotions with the slaves from sympathy to hatred to compassion. He also has issues with the people on the ship and wonders who he can trust, if anyone. The struggles among the crew and how that all plays out is another harsh look at what goes on amongst the activity on a slave ship. Jessie does some growing up on this ship that he go desperately wanted to jump off and in the later chapters of the book we really learn how those months on the ship affected his life. I thought the book was written wonderfully and was powerful. Was it cruel and harsh, yes but did it portray a slave ship? Probably. Would I let a child read this book? That all depends on the maturity of the child as there is some strong language and some nudity (but there is no sex). For only 127 it packs a powerful punch.
