Reviews! Accolades! (wooooHOOOO!)
About SPIRITED AWAY:
This from Publishers Weekly:
"In this highly researched novel, Freddy O’Brennan is living a modest and happy life in 1653 Ireland until English soldiers force her father to fight for the Crown in Spain. Freddy is a survivor, quick to adapt to dire situations, which makes her an easy hero to root for. Freddy’s on point characterization is the saving grace of the opening, as the conflict arrives on the second page before there is time to establish a connection between reader and story. By May of 1653, Freddy thinks she is safe, until English soldiers kidnap and sell her into slavery. Freddy’s ordeal interweaves with that of African slaves, and in an honest portrayal, she must battle her own prejudices against her fellow slaves... Short chapters full of hope and Freddy’s fierce spirit will keep readers turning the pages."
"In this highly researched novel, Freddy O’Brennan is living a modest and happy life in 1653 Ireland until English soldiers force her father to fight for the Crown in Spain. Freddy is a survivor, quick to adapt to dire situations, which makes her an easy hero to root for. Freddy’s on point characterization is the saving grace of the opening, as the conflict arrives on the second page before there is time to establish a connection between reader and story. By May of 1653, Freddy thinks she is safe, until English soldiers kidnap and sell her into slavery. Freddy’s ordeal interweaves with that of African slaves, and in an honest portrayal, she must battle her own prejudices against her fellow slaves... Short chapters full of hope and Freddy’s fierce spirit will keep readers turning the pages."
This from ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) Expert Reviewers:
"...powerful, well written...moves rapidly but not before the reader has a feel for the life the girls left behind... a story based on a history that so many readers do not know... well researched, and it is most certainly well written... Very interesting choice of topic for historical fiction... When people think of slavery in the Americas, they usually think of Africans being forced to work on plantations in North and South America. Very few people know that there were abductions in Europe and children and young adults were sold into slavery."
"...powerful, well written...moves rapidly but not before the reader has a feel for the life the girls left behind... a story based on a history that so many readers do not know... well researched, and it is most certainly well written... Very interesting choice of topic for historical fiction... When people think of slavery in the Americas, they usually think of Africans being forced to work on plantations in North and South America. Very few people know that there were abductions in Europe and children and young adults were sold into slavery."