Review: Spirited Away
In the mid-1600s, Cromwell and his men terrorized Ireland, capturing Irish Catholics and selling them into slavery. Told from the point of view of a thirteen year old girl, Spirited Away is a tale that teaches this bit of little known history in a way that will make you both cry and smile.
Frederica "Freddy" O'Brennan is a tomboy, loving nothing more than riding her horse and helping her father in the fields. When her father is captured and she is forced to run with her family, she thought that worst had happened. She finds out how wrong she is when both she and her younger sister are captured and taken to Barbados as slaves. The author doesn't sugarcoat this story, showing families separated, slaves beaten and raped, jealously and hatred... but also hope, love, and the possibility of escape. Bringing humanity to this story of slavery, we are reminded that first and foremost slaves are people, and - even if they had to hide them - have the same emotions as their masters.
I really enjoyed this story. I am a history buff, so it was great reading about a part of history that isn't as well known. But not only that, the characters are likeable - when they're supposed to be - and you really care about what happens to them. We watch Freddy suffer through slavery for over three years, losing her childhood and forced to become a woman. We also see, through letters received, that not all plantation owners are the same and not everyone is brutal to their slaves. While the book is written to tel the story of Irish slavery, we also see many other people and cultures affected, and we are reminded that every culture has experienced their share of tragedy.
Regarding the audiobook: While I purchased the kindle copy of this book myself, I was also gifted with an audible copy of the audiobook (from the author in exchange for an honest review) so that I would be able to compare and review both the audiobook and the kindle version. I'm not a big fan of audiobooks, mostly because I can read faster than most people can speak - especially the actors/actresses who record audiobooks! However, if I was going to listen to an audiobook, I wouldn't mind another one narrated by Whitney Webster. I normally prefer male voices for audiobooks, but Whitney Webster surprised me by being both a relaxing voice to listen to, and someone capable of actually speaking in the appropriate accents that the book required. It was nice to listen to her switch from an English accent to an Irish accent, since too many people have a tendency to blend the two together. I enjoyed both listening to this book and reading it, and being able to switch between the two formats using Whispersync was a nice option.
Thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy of the audiobook (in exchange for an honest review) so that I was able to review both the audiobook and the kindle versions.
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