A Girl Called Boy by Belinda Hurmence Ages 9-12 176 pages Clarion February 2006 Paperback     Blanche Overtha Yancey hates her name almost as much as she despises the slave ancestors she was named after. That’s why she insists people call her by her initials, B-O-Y. Her Daddy is proud of his slave heritage, but Boy finds it embarrassing. “They deserved to be slaves. They let themselves be pushed around,” she says. “They couldn’t make me a slave.” But Boy soon learns that fighting for your freedom isn’t as easy as it sounds. In a strange turn of events, she finds herself thrust back to 1853. Cold, barefoot and hungry, she takes refuge among the slaves at a working plantation. There she experiences firsthand the despicable conditions in which they live and work and is shocked when she comes across a newspaper ad offering a reward for the return of one of her very own ancestors. While Big Ike and his son Isaac plan their escape in search of their wife and mother who was sold away, Boy wonders how she’ll ever get back to her own time and family. For now, she must first survive slavery. It isn’t long before her desire to be free compels her to run, too. Hiding by day and dodging hound dogs by night, Boy tries to summon up the courage of her forbearers. Will she make it back to the present day before the slave catchers capture her? In A Girl Called Boy , author Belinda Hurmence shows the horrors of slavery from a new perspective. By reliving the experience through the eyes of a modern-day black child, the contrast to her own lifestyle dramatically influences the reader, giving this chapter of history a clearer view. We would all obtain a greater appreciation for what we have if we could walk in the shoes of those who came before us.     web reviews   Niki Schoenfeldt/2008 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)