ABOUT THIS BOOK

The planter who buys you will put you to work in his household or in the sugar-cane fields. In the fields, under the hot sun, slaves don't last long, perhaps a year. So show your white teeth, Raisha, smile a lot, and don't say anything unless you're asked.

Snatched from her home in Africa, sixteen-year-old Raisha begins her new life on the island of St. John's as a slave on Jost van Prok's plantation. Even as a sheltered house servant, Raisha cannot ignore the terrible suffering of other slaves. But is she willing to risk her life to help a group of runaways?

This is a compelling account of the great slave rebellion of 1733, and of one daring young woman's suffering, strength, and ultimate triumph of will.

This is Raisha's story.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott O'Dell was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 23, 1898. He attended Occidental College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford University, and University of Rome. He worked as a technical director for Paramount, a cameraman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and a book editor of a Los Angeles newspaper before serving in the United States Air Force during World War II. The recipient of numerous book awards, he established the Scott O'Dell award for historical fiction in 1981. He died on October 15, 1989.


From the Paperback edition.