Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl (Dear America)

Rating:
Summary: A nice novel
Review: After starting high school, I started taking French as a foreign language so I was really looking forward to reading this book and learning more about the French culture. The book didn't disappoint me. 12-year-old Lorzette Moreau "Zettie" is a companion, a better world for a slave in the upper class French society. Her mistress, Marie Moreau "Rae" is set to be married to a man she does not love so that Maries brother Pierre can pay off his debts. Zettie is also set to be sold off. When Zettie begins the diary she is locked in a room waiting for the day she will be sold and never see her mistress again. Little does she know that Rae has a plan for escape. After a daring escape, Zettie and Rae, with the help of friends, find themselves at the Ortega's house, Rae's godparents. There, they learn that Jacques, Rae's older brother, presumed dead from the war between France and England, may be alive and well as a captive in the Colonies, America. So, soon Zettie finds herself setting foot in a new land. However, Zettie finds that the way Americans treat slaves are no differnt than in France. Even though Rae is very nice to her, Zettie still isn't Rae's equal. Zettie yearns for freedom and she soon begins to learn that she might be able to use her skills to do just that. Will Zettie be able to look to the other side of the hills, freedom?

I definitely enjoyed this book. It had a new perspective on the slave, one that was refreshing and different. I recommend all readers of Dear America to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Original, Interesting, and *yay* French!
Review: I was looking forward to this book because I relatively enjoy McKissack's books and this subject seemed very original. I read this before I decided to start Lady of Palenque (don't touch Lady of Palenque I beg of you) and I managed to get it done in about 2 days. The diary is enjoyable with it's sad moments, its fun moments, and its periods where you have to stop and think, such as when the subject of Zettie being free rather than being free of Ree comes up. Some parts of this diary dragged a little but they were made up for soon enough because there was plenty of excitement in this diary from the swordfights to the unexpected arrival of Ree's abusive brother, Pierre, and of course the entire flight from Aix-en-Provence to Spain. The main characters, Zettie and Ree, are really very inspirational for girls. Ree is a woman but she is also very in control of herself and a fine athlete. And Zettie, although a slave, is highly intelligent and mannered and quite a linguist. Some characters did annoy me, I'll admit, and others I wondered why they were even so vital. And the man that Ree chooses in the end baffled me. He really didn't seem like her type...Not at all. But I guess it goes to show what the whole book is about, how all people are equal no matter your race or background and that everybody should come together and love one another and stop hating. An average Dear America book, I would recommend it, but there are others in the series that I could say were a little better.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't live up to high Dear America standard, but ok
Review: Look to the Hills is a story that tells of Lozette Moreau's, a French slave girl, journey from France to New York in 1763 and of her ongoing wish for freedom. Whatever happens, this spirited girl always keeps her hopes alive. From Aix-en-Provence, France, to Spain, across the Atlantic Ocean, to New York Colony, wherever she goes, Lozette, or Zettie, is forever hopeful, and inspires others to be so too.
Zettie has been Marie-Louise Boyer's, or Ree's, companion for as long as she can remember. Companions are slaves who go everywhere and do everything with their masters, sharing many of the same privileges. Zettie has always been well-treated and has never really considered herself a slave. But when Ree's father dies and her ruthless brother Pierre takes over, Zettie realizes how vulnerable she really is. Ree is forced to marry a man she hates, and she persuades her husband to purchase Zettie, who Pierre is auctioning, as a wedding gift for Ree. Their friend St. Georges then helps Zettie and Ree escape to Spain, where they will search for Ree's lost brother, Jacques. They learn that he is in America, where he was presumed to be killed in battle, and they sail to New York.
Once in New York, Zettie and Ree move to Fort Niagara. While Ree finds her brother, who has been accused of deserting the French army, and falls in love, Zettie has her own adventures. She meets many new friends, learns about her heritiage, becomes involved in the French and Indian war and the wars between the Indians and the English colonists, and competes in a fencing match. But most of all, Zettie inspires everyone she meets to want freedom and to keep their hopes up.
This book told about some topics we haven't learned much about: slavery before the Revolutionary War, and slavery in other countries. The characters were very believable, but after the first half of the book, it didn't have much of a plot.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't live up to high Dear America standard, but ok
Review: Look to the Hills is a story that tells of Lozette Moreau's, a French slave girl, journey from France to New York in 1763 and of her ongoing wish for freedom. Whatever happens, this spirited girl always keeps her hopes alive. From Aix-en-Provence, France, to Spain, across the Atlantic Ocean, to New York Colony, wherever she goes, Lozette, or Zettie, is forever hopeful, and inspires others to be so too.
Zettie has been Marie-Louise Boyer's, or Ree's, companion for as long as she can remember. Companions are slaves who go everywhere and do everything with their masters, sharing many of the same privileges. Zettie has always been well-treated and has never really considered herself a slave. But when Ree's father dies and her ruthless brother Pierre takes over, Zettie realizes how vulnerable she really is. Ree is forced to marry a man she hates, and she persuades her husband to purchase Zettie, who Pierre is auctioning, as a wedding gift for Ree. Their friend St. Georges then helps Zettie and Ree escape to Spain, where they will search for Ree's lost brother, Jacques. They learn that he is in America, where he was presumed to be killed in battle, and they sail to New York.
Once in New York, Zettie and Ree move to Fort Niagara. While Ree finds her brother, who has been accused of deserting the French army, and falls in love, Zettie has her own adventures. She meets many new friends, learns about her heritiage, becomes involved in the French and Indian war and the wars between the Indians and the English colonists, and competes in a fencing match. But most of all, Zettie inspires everyone she meets to want freedom and to keep their hopes up.
This book told about some topics we haven't learned much about: slavery before the Revolutionary War, and slavery in other countries. The characters were very believable, but after the first half of the book, it didn't have much of a plot.

Rating:
Summary: What can I say?
Review: This book about Lozette Moreau wasn't really satifying at all. She rarely held my interest. All she talked about was where she lived. Zettie lived in France and New York. The author's intentions were good, but the story seems far-fetched and not very exciting at all. The epilogue was better than the book, I admit. A poor excuse for a diary. It had some good parts, but the rest was just plain boring and unrealistic. For example, slaves NEVER mingled with the upper class or went to parties. Read this book to pass the time, but don't read it if you're looking for a good read.

Rating:
Summary: What can I say?
Review: Twelve-year-old Lozette Moreau, called Zettie, has lived all her life since she was a baby in the French countryside as the companion to Marie-Louise Boyer, called Ree, daughter of a wealthy nobleman. Although she is still considered a slave, as Ree's companion she is treated well, able to read and write, and to speak French, Spanish, and English. But when Ree's father dies and her brother Pierre inherits everything, he loses the family fortune with his bad decisions. Now he is going to sell Zettie, and force Ree into marriage to a man she despises. Then Ree learns that her other brother Jacques, presumed dead in the war with the English, may be alive, and living with Indians in the Colonies. Ree and Zettie escape to Spain and then travel across the ocean to the New World, where they end up living at Fort Niagara. In her diary, Lozette describes their journey, their experiences at Fort Niagara at the end of the French and Indian War, and her own longing to be considered free.

I highly recommend this new book to all readers who love the Dear America series. I especially love Colonial American settings and I liked reading a different type of slavery story. Zettie was well treated but still longed to be a free person. It's a very unique book sure to be enjoyed by historical fiction fans.