Freewater

LUQMAN-DAWSON, Amina. Freewater. NY: Little, Brown [2022]. 8vo, viii 408pp. Light green board spine stamped in gold with light blue boards. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (no medal affixed). With a bookplate signed by the author, Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson, laid in.

First edition. 2023 Newbery Medal Winner! Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, forced to leave their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp. In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help save his new home.