Soaring hope and crushing disappointment. They are the two sides of the coin that repeatedly flips throughout River Sing Me Home (Headline), starting with Barbadian slave Rachel being told by her master that Britain has decreed an end to slavery, and she is free. Except she can’t leave the sugarcane plantation – and the only life she’s ever known – because the slaves are now ‘apprentices’ who, by law, have to continue working there for six years. But after a life of suffering, something in Rachel snaps and she flees, determined to use her stolen freedom to find her five surviving children who were sold against her will. And so, a plucky heroine is born as she travels throughout Barbados, British Guiana and Trinidad on a mission to reunite her family.
“As debut novelist Eleanor Shearer – the granddaughter of Windrush immigrants – writes in her author’s note, ‘This is not a book about slavery – it is a book about what comes after it’,” says Stylist Loves editor Gemma Crisp. “Inspired by true stories of former slaves tracking down children who were forcibly taken from them, Rachel’s fictional journey of grit and perseverance – accompanied by a side dish of luck – as she discovers the varied fates of Micah, Mercy, Mary Grace, Cherry Jane and Thomas Augustus is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and at its core, a testament to the power of love. Despite the serious subject matter, this is a pacy novel whose main characters will stay with you long after you finish the last page.” £18.99, Bookshop.org