Good Fortune
For Ages: 12 and up
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Ayanna Bahati lives in a small African village when she is brutally kidnapped, along with her mother and brother, and forced onto a slave ship to America. As Ayanna, renamed Anna, rises from the cotton fields to the master’s house, she finds the familial love she’s been yearning for—but she is also faced with more threats to her survival. Risking everything to escape the plantation, Anna makes it to the North and to freedom, eventually settling in the free black community of Hadson, Ohio, and educating herself to become a teacher. A moving account from a compelling new storyteller.
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- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
- 496 pages |
- ISBN 9781416984801 |
- January 2010 |
- Grades 7 and up |
- Lexile 760L
$16.99 List Price
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Praise
“Noni Carter was only a child when she first conceived of this story of a young girl's journey from freedom to slavery and back to ultimate freedom--but her debut novel is written with wisdom and heart far beyond her years. Well researched and delightfully well-written, Good Fortune is an empowering testament to history that will move readers both young and old.”
– Tananarive Due, American Book Award-winning author of The Black Rose and Joplin's Ghost
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“Noni Carter was only a child when she first conceived of this story of a young girl's journey from freedom to slavery and back to ultimate freedom--but her debut novel is written with wisdom and heart far beyond her years. Well researched and delightfully well-written, Good Fortune is an empowering testament to history that will move readers both young and old.”– Tananarive Due, American Book Award-winning author of The Black Rose and Joplin's Ghost
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“Noni Carter is an old wise soul in the body of a beautiful young woman. She has listened to the elders and the ancestors and brought us a story from the past that gives hope to our present and future. ”– Bertice Berry, author of Redemption Song and The Ties That Bind
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“Few young novelists have the gift, range, and courage to tackle the sin of Slavery. Noni Carter does just that. And she does it well. Read Good Fortune and know that she has that rare quality of a natural storyteller--simple, poetic, and intensely emotional. This is extraordinary writing, rich in history, full of triumph.”– Kwame Alexander, author of Crush: Love Poems, and founder of Book-in-a-Day, Inc.
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“Noni Carter is an important new voice in black literature. Get on board now because we'll be hearing from her for a long, long time.”– Reginald Hudlin, producer/director of House Party and Boomerang and author of The Black Panther Series
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER
1
HIS HAND CAME DOWN UPON MY CHEEK HARD AND FAST. Stunned, I staggered backward.
“Look at all dis cotton you left behind, gal!” I looked up to see the overseer’s hand nearing my face again. I flinched as he smacked me once more, sending me to my knees. I stared at the ground, seven years’ worth of hard labor in the fields burning under my veil of obedience.
“Next time I find you skippin’ ova cotton like it don’t matta nothin’ in the world to you, you gonna find yo’self beaten, gal, you understand me?”
“Yessuh,” I... see more
1
HIS HAND CAME DOWN UPON MY CHEEK HARD AND FAST. Stunned, I staggered backward.
“Look at all dis cotton you left behind, gal!” I looked up to see the overseer’s hand nearing my face again. I flinched as he smacked me once more, sending me to my knees. I stared at the ground, seven years’ worth of hard labor in the fields burning under my veil of obedience.
“Next time I find you skippin’ ova cotton like it don’t matta nothin’ in the world to you, you gonna find yo’self beaten, gal, you understand me?”
“Yessuh,” I... see more
CHAPTER
2
I AWOKE WITH A START. MARY WAS SHAKING ME SO HARD I felt dizzy.
“Sarah, chile, get up! Missus want you workin’ in the house.”
“Doin’ what?” I asked with a wide yawn, wondering why Mary was trying to wake me before my usual morning hour.
“Jus’ normal housework firs’ part’ve the day, an’ back in the fields fo’ the rest,” Daniel explained for her. He was always up earlier than the two of us, carving something out of wood. I lifted myself slowly from under the rags that served as my blanket and gazed at my brother.
... see more
2
I AWOKE WITH A START. MARY WAS SHAKING ME SO HARD I felt dizzy.
“Sarah, chile, get up! Missus want you workin’ in the house.”
“Doin’ what?” I asked with a wide yawn, wondering why Mary was trying to wake me before my usual morning hour.
“Jus’ normal housework firs’ part’ve the day, an’ back in the fields fo’ the rest,” Daniel explained for her. He was always up earlier than the two of us, carving something out of wood. I lifted myself slowly from under the rags that served as my blanket and gazed at my brother.
... see more
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Book Reviews
Video
18-Year-0ld Author Noni Carter discusses the background of her new book, Good Fortune
Inspired by her family history,Good Fortune traces one girl's journey from slavery to freedom, told by 18-year-old Noni Carter in her dazzling debut.
18-Year-0ld Author Noni Carter discusses the background of her new...
