Wolf by the Ears (Point)

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and educational book!!
Review: An intriguing novel that takes place from 1819 to 1822, Wolf by the Ears depicts a portion of Harriet Hemings's life on Monticello. Harriet and her brothers are slaves on the residence who have always been treated above average by Thomas Jefferson, leading some to believe that they are his children. As the plot unfolds, Harriet must decide whether or not she will take the freedom that Jefferson promised to her and her siblings when they each turn 21. She finds herself lost between two worlds, and while her family and friends encourage her to take her freedom when the time comes, she is more drawn toward continuing her life at Monticello. Her feelings are altered, however, when a visiting Charles Bankhead tries to "put her in her place" by making advances on her. She realizes that it is not completely safe for her to live as a young black woman at Monticello, and is told by her friend, Thruston, that she and the other slaves would be sold if Jefferson died. But can Harriet actually leave her loving family and the only home she's ever known? Read the book to find out!! Driven by the general concept of loyalty, this absorbing novel successfully interweaves important and accurate historical facts with imaginary individuals and vivid writing. A very appropriate novel for middle schoolers, Wolf by the Ears is a remarkable accomplishment that can be recommended also to readers of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Time to make a choice...
Review: Harriet Hemings is under pressure to make a hard decision. Harriet is forced to make a difficult decision. She is on a slave plantation run by the great Thomas Jefferson, main writer of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson is very kind to his slaves and treats each one with special care. Harriet is no ordinary nigra slave woman. Harriet and her siblings have extremely white skin. Some, like her brother Beverly, think this is because they are the children of their master, Thomas Jefferson. Harriet must make a decision to either pass into the white world or stay a slave at the Monticello plantation. She was already granted freedom becasue her mother, Sally Hemings, talked to the master about it. Hariet receives advice from Mr. Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's son-in-law, about making her decision. She also receives advice from her brother Beverly, who she always looks up to for great advice. In my opinion, there are so many characters to keep track of it is hard to follow the plot, which is separated into diary entries. There are also so many questions left unanswered. Overall, though, the author gives excellent descriptions of characters, the fields, and the house. This is a captivating story.

Rating:
Summary: Wolf by the Ears
Review: Wolf by the Ears

Wolf by the Ears takes place in Thomas Jefferson's house where a slave girl named Harriet Hemmings, her two older brothers, two younger brothers, and her mother live. Their mother made a deal with Thomas that all of her children would be free when they turned twenty-one. Except she and her brothers are so light skinned that they could pass as a white and not a slave at any time. When Harriet's oldest brother turns twenty-one, he runs away in the middle of the night. Then, when it's her second oldest brother's turn, he decides not to go because he wants to go to Thomas Jefferson's university even though he is not able to, but he stays anyway.
When she is only three years away from being twenty-one, one of her good friends says that he likes her and that every man working there likes her which then leads up to an event that lets her know that when her time comes, she must go and take her freedom. One of Jefferson's friend's offers to help her by having her pretend that she is going to marry someone when she leaves so no one will try to marry her off. The only problem is that when she leaves, she will have to pass over and become a white. She doesn't want to and neither does her brother, but she has to for her own safety. While she is dealing with all of this, there is still the rumor that Thomas Jefferson may not only be her master but her father as well.
I thought this book was very detailed and very noticeable of what was going on with everyone. It describes everything she goes through to be free, including leaving her family and the only home she's ever known. I didn't like this book because it got into some things that really didn't play a part in the story, and it just made the book longer and made some parts really boring.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: The name of my book was Wolf by the Ears by Ann Rinaldi and I gave it four stars. It was about a girl named Harriet who was living as a "servant" in Thomas Jefferson's household. Harriet was one of the children Sally Hemmings had; most believe that her children's father was Mr. Jefferson himself, due to their extremely light skin and the way that they were treated under his authority. This book is Harriet's diary. She writes in it over a period of about two and half years, from the time she is 19 until she turns 21. Harriet has an option of leaving Monticello (the house/plantation) when she turns twenty-one. She doesn't really want to leave, but she can't stay. This book is about her last few years at Monticello and all of her struggles. I gave this book four stars for many reasons. The first reason was because of the way it was written. I think that the author did a really great job of writing this book in a diary form. First, it made the book flow a lot easier. As a reader, I was never left wondering where I was at in the storyline or trying to figure out who was just talking. The author didn't make us jump from character to character. This kind of leads me into my next point. The story was about one girl; it was one girl's diary. I enjoy books that are really only centered around one specific character. With one character, you feel like you can connect to/ understand that character better because you focus on them and their story. My second reason for rating this book four stars was because it was based on real events in history. Personally, I like to read historical fiction because I think that it's sometimes easier for me to visualize and get a feel for the book if I know that its based on something that really happened. Ann Rinaldi is one of my favorite authors and she does a really great job of writing historical fiction books that have a lot of detail and research put into them. This leads me to my next point. My last reason for rating this book why I did comes from the book's storyline. The author did a good job of putting in a variety of emotional struggles/actions and events. This book has a lot of different scenes that deal with an assortment of emotions. The main reason why I didn't give this book five stars was because sometimes I felt like Harriet was whining too much. She complained about her life and her struggles, and it was probably hard, but she complained about the same things over and over. Other than that though, this book was very entertaining. Finally, I just wanted to say that this book could be read by anyone. It's not just for teens or anything like that. That's one of the reasons why I like historical fiction, because any age group can enjoy it. Historical fiction can bring up questions or be informative, both of which this book did in my opinion. The author did a great job on this book, and I think that anyone who has actually read my paper this far needs to go read it so they know what I'm talking about.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I think this book is one of the best books I,ve ever read. Its one of those books that you cant put down. After I finished reading it I started reasearch on the Hemings family, and sure enough, it is known for Harriet Hemings to be Jefferson's slave daughter. ; Harriet Hemings is called a servant on Thomas Jefferson' beatiful plantation, Monticello, but she's not. She is mulato slave. Slave and servant aren't all that she is called though. Her brothers and her beleive that the rumors of Thomas Jefferson being their father. Why not? He knows them by name, and gives them small gifts when he sees them. Each of Sally Hemings children recive their freedom when they reach the age of 21. Harriet will turn 21 in 1822, two years away. How can she leave all she has ever known at Monticello? Then she finds out that the Master is is debt. Will he sell or marry her off before she reaches the grand age of 21? When Jefferson's son-in-law encorages her to pass as white, life is looking better, but if she passes as white will she be turning her back on her people? How will she leave? Will she leave like her brother, Tom, in the middle of the night? Will she pass as white?

Rating:
Summary: Could Not Put It Down!
Review: The first time I read this book, I was ten years old and doing a report on Sally Hemmings for my social studies class. I started reading it, and I could not put it aside to look at the other books I had checked out from the library. I simply had to finish it! I fell in love with the character of Harriet Hemmings and had to find out what happened to her. It inspired me to do more research than I needed to for my report. A few years later I spied the book in a store and I remembered how much I enjoyed reading it the first time so I bought it...and loved it all over again. There are very few books that I read in my childhood that I'd still read today, and I'm happy to say that this is definitely one of them. It is so well-written and the story compelling and emjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Not for serious readers
Review: ¡§Wolf by the Ears,¡¨ written by Ann Rinaldi, is a story about Harriet Hemings, Thomas Jefferson¡¦s servant, or as some rumors say, his daughter. At the age of 19, Harriet Hemings was about to make a choice between taking her freedom and staying at her beloved Monticello where she grew up, as a slave. I felt the idea of a book about Thomas Jefferson, the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, owning slaves and even having kids with his servant was quite interesting. However, Rinaldi didn¡¦t reach the expectations I had developed for this book after reading the back cover.
There are many books written about African American slaves, and among those, plenty are written about mixes that were half Black American and half White American. These stories are good because they are very touching, and they can really reach the readers¡¦ hearts and make them think about the racist problems that still exist in our society today. "Wolf by the Ears¡¨isn't in-depth enough to emotionally affect the readers.
Personally, I don¡¦t think Rinaldi portrayed the dilemma of Harriet Hemings well enough. There should be a stronger sense of contrast between freedom and slavery. In Harriet Hemings¡¦ situation, her emotions should be very dramatic and constantly changing throughout the book. Her beliefs should be evolving and becoming more mature as well. It seemed that the author tried to portray Harriet Hemings as someone who is brave, loving, independent, and strong-minded, but Harriet came across as someone who is weak and vulnerable. This was a confusing message, which made the book less enjoyable. There are also some parts in the book that are quite repetitive, such as continued references about Harriet Hemings¡¦feelings, which never changed.
I think this book is good for young readers, however, this book would not satisfy readers who are passionate about African American history.

Rating:
Summary: Ann Rinaldi at her Best!!
Review: Along with Time Enough For Drums, this is one of my favorite Ann Rinaldi books!! I was easily transported to Monticello in 1820-1822, and I felt like I really got to know all of the characters. As I was reading this book, I became Harriet Hemings, and I felt her pain, happiness, sadness, and confusion. The ending is great, although it leaves you hoping for more!! Maybe Ann Rinaldi will write a sequel! I hope so! Anyway, read this book! You won't want to miss it!

Rating:
Summary: Wolf by the Ears
Review: Wolf by the Ears

Wolf by the Ears takes place in Thomas Jefferson's house where a slave girl named Harriet Hemmings, her two older brothers, two younger brothers, and her mother live. Their mother made a deal with Thomas that all of her children would be free when they turned twenty-one. Except she and her brothers are so light skinned that they could pass as a white and not a slave at any time. When Harriet's oldest brother turns twenty-one, he runs away in the middle of the night. Then, when it's her second oldest brother's turn, he decides not to go because he wants to go to Thomas Jefferson's university even though he is not able to, but he stays anyway.
When she is only three years away from being twenty-one, one of her good friends says that he likes her and that every man working there likes her which then leads up to an event that lets her know that when her time comes, she must go and take her freedom. One of Jefferson's friend's offers to help her by having her pretend that she is going to marry someone when she leaves so no one will try to marry her off. The only problem is that when she leaves, she will have to pass over and become a white. She doesn't want to and neither does her brother, but she has to for her own safety. While she is dealing with all of this, there is still the rumor that Thomas Jefferson may not only be her master but her father as well.
I thought this book was very detailed and very noticeable of what was going on with everyone. It describes everything she goes through to be free, including leaving her family and the only home she's ever known. I didn't like this book because it got into some things that really didn't play a part in the story, and it just made the book longer and made some parts really boring.

Rating:
Summary: Brandi from Richview Middle School
Review: This story is dull at first, but it gets better toward the end. The most exciting part of this book is at the very end when she figures out who her father is. The book starts out as she, Harriet, is serving Thomas Jefferson in his office. Harriet lives on a plantation. How the story ends is that she is so light skinned she can git out of slavery and become a white woman.