Freewater

Freewater

File:Freewater (2022).jpg First edition cover
Author	Amina Luqman-Dawson
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction
Publisher	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date	February 1, 2022
Publication place	United States
Awards	2023 Coretta Scott King Author Award Newbery Medal
ISBN	978-0316056618

Freewater is a 2022 children's novel by American author Amina Luqman-Dawson, and published by Little Brown and Company. The story, about two young children who escape from slavery and find a community in the Great Dismal Swamp, won both the Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Medal in 2023.

Plot

Luqman-Dawson's book is set in the southeastern United States during its slavery era. Two children and their mother are fleeing together from a horrific life on a plantation. The children become separated from the mother during the attempt. After making their way into a swamp, they are rescued by a Black man named Suleman, an escaped slave himself. He takes them to "Freewater": a community of Maroons hidden deep in the Great Dismal Swamp. Freewater is populated entirely by people who managed to escape slavery, as well as their children. While the community of Freewater is a creation of the author, it is based on actual communities that existed in the area.

The book is written with an alternating point of view, helping to develop a large and "multidimensional cast."

Reception

Luqman-Dawson's book has received generous praise. Kirkus Reviews calls the novel "An exceptional addition to the resistance stories of enslaved people," and singles out the setting's description for special praise: "...so vivid that it becomes a key aspect of the narrative." BookPage calls the story "historical fiction at its finest."

See also

• Great Dismal Swamp maroons