Up From Freedom by Wayne Grady (Review by Lisa Gingera)
Grady truly captivates the reader in this novel. He does a wonderful job illustrating that everything is not black and white, through his character Virgil Moody. Virgil Moody’s father was a slave owner, and a man that Moody never wanted to be. Moody decides to take a pregnant slave, Annie, with him when he moves away. Annie has a son, Lucas, that Moody raises as his own. While Moody treats Annie well, Annie constantly reminds him (and the reader) that Moody still owns her. This constant reminder ensures that the reader sees how complex this part of history was.
As Moody’s life changes, you cannot help but cheer for him as he realizes the consequences of his own actions and tries to fix the wrongs that he has made. Grady is an amazing writer, as shown by his abilities to make the reader care deeply about characters with questionable actions.
As Moody’s life changes, you cannot help but cheer for him as he realizes the consequences of his own actions and tries to fix the wrongs that he has made. Grady is an amazing writer, as shown by his abilities to make the reader care deeply about characters with questionable actions.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. In fact, I would encourage people to read it, just to be reminded of how their good intentions might be harmful to another individual. There is so much that everyone can learn through Grady’s enchanting novel.