My Name Is Not Angelica

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: A fondly remembered book from my childhood. I highly recommend this and most other Scott O'Dell works.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but mediocre.
Review: All things considered, this is good historical fiction. The way it ends, however, was mixed. Raisha made the right decision. Some of the other characters did not. If you enjoy history, read it. If you are a Scott O'Dell fan, this is probably the best book that he could possibly do.

Rating:
Summary: An incredible story about a young woman's hope for freedom.
Review: I really enjoyed reading the book My Name Is Not Angelica, by Scott O'Dell. A couple of things that I liked about it were that it was very realistic and descriptive. This book tells about the life of Raisha, and her journey to the island of St. John. Raisha is a very courageous, young woman who survives the trip across the Caribbean Sea. The ship she rides on is filled with sickness and death. All passengers on God's Adventure, which is the name of the ship, are cramped together, and fed disgusting food. Since Raisha recognizes a captain on the ship, she is brought to the deck of the boat to live. When they arrive to the island of St. John, they are auctioned off. Raisha stands tall, and hopeful, unknowing what to expect. Many of the people on the boat who were sold had to work in the fields and the hot sun, but Raisha worked inside with the plantation owner's wife. At night, the slaves would talk with other slave plantations, by the music of drums. The drums said to escape from the plantation as quickly as possible. Eventually, as slaves try to escape, a revolt breaks out, whites against slaves. Raisha faced many obstacles throughout the story, and you will find out more when you read the book. I really recommend this book, and if you have read other books by Scott O'Dell, you know why. He describes each event so realistically, it is intriguing. Each thing that happens, is described differently, and it's own way. Although some parts of the book are unclear, you can follow the plot line easily. This is a great book if you are interested in a little bit of history, with a twist.

Rating:
Summary: Very dramatic and suspenseful
Review: It's very good. I really apreciate Scott O' Dell making this novel for students like me or unlike me, teaching us the cruel and unusual history of the African slaves. It was a very touching book. Deep inside yourself you want the character, Raisha and the others to be happy, going back to a life unforgotten. The reason I picked four stars for "My name is not Angelica", is because the end of the book was, yes very exciting, however it went too fast of her moving to the French island of Martinique. In conclusion, this novel has been one of the books I have ever read and it was the best book I have read in school.

Rating:
Summary: My Name is Not Angelica, the Book on our History
Review: My Name Is Not Angelica, the Book on our History

My Name Is Not Angelica, by Scott O'Dell, introduces us to the realistic life of a slave from Africa. This book is exiting and interesting because it shows how harsh the life of a slave was in America and the things that they had to go through. Raisha is a girl living happily in an African village, about to be married to the handsome son of their diseased chief. Everything is going well until the village is invited to a feast in another village kingdom. There she is betrayed and kidnapped at night along with other people from her kingdom and sold as a slave. She is forced to board an over crowded slave ship and travel uncomfortably to the Americas leaving her friends and family without knowing what their fate will be. From then on her life completely changes and she learns all the rules that a slave must fallow. Though everything around her is cruel it all makes her stronger for the next dangers she must face. I recomend this book because the life that Raisha, the young African maiden, goes through is exiting to read about and teaches you a lot about slavery. Raisha has to make many decisions that sometimes put her life at risk, but that might help her and the rest of the slaves she knows. You learn and gain much interesting information on the subject of slavery in the Americas in a fun way. I never new that the torture that slaves had to go through when they were caught after running away were so extreme. I had never read a book that told about what happened to slaves if they were caught after running away. I also learned that slaves had hideouts or camps that they organized when they ran away and they used drums to communicate with the other camps around them. This book taught me more things about slavery that I had never heard about. This is why I think that this book is fun, exiting, and a good pastime. Some people might disagree with me and say that this book sounds like other books about slaves that they have read. Even though these point might be true I still think that this book is enjoyable and in some ways unique. My Name Is Not Angelica is good for many ages and even grown-ups can learn more about slavery from this book.

Rating:
Summary: Heart-wrenching historical fiction.
Review: Scott O'Dell writes history not found in textbooks. Here isslavery on the island of St. John, rather than the more familiartopics found in YA or children's books - such as the Canadian/American Underground Railroad or the Emancipation. O'Dell's emphasis on the fear and cruelty of the masters is coupled with revolt of slaves and the power of their talking drums. A subplot love story helps this tragic book appeal to both female and male young adults, black and white.

Rating:
Summary: A Definite Read
Review: The book My Name Is Not Angelica by Scott O'Dell is an intriguing guide through the slavery of African Americans. It is a brilliant story with descriptive characteristics of each specific individual and setting. Raisha, the protagonist of the book, was sold to the Van Prok family of Hawks Nest and throughout the story she gains her individuality. Mistress Jenna Van Prok renamed Raisha "Angelica" to try to make her forget her heritage. Raisha, sold in a trio with two of her friends from home, blossoms into an emotionally strong woman in tough times as this publication progresses. Her entire "career" as a slave she had dreamed to be free. It made it tougher for her when she dealt with the surprises of her new lifestyle and community. Can she escape this mind buckling experience? The inquiring minds of all that read this are to whom this will prevail.

I recommend My Name is Not Angelica because it is a somewhat brief anecdote that shows how Raisha deals with the slave revolt of 1733. It was admirable how Raisha gained her independence "waltzing" from location to location. After the unbearably treacherous happening of being removed from her home and in Africa at an age where she nearly understood the horror and details of the slave revolt. Although the heat of Africa was similar to that of St. John, the location of Hawks Nest, it seemed hotter to her to a scorching degree while suffering and slaving away. Even though her existent work was tending to Mistress Jenna. There were many sections of the story when Raisha found her self bedazzled by the new nature of her life. The strongest obstacle beyond her nature was when she constantly found herself looking upon a collection of white faces (especially in the market in the West Indies where she was sold). She also had to deal with the trauma of watching her friends suffer, and in one case die by the strokes of a whip. This 130 paged telling may seem like it is a children's book by it's length, but it has the potential of an award winning novel. It has been a winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in the past. But presently I'm sure it will tolerate many more awards to an utmost extent.

A negative characteristic of My Name Is Not Angelica is it was not as well organized as it could have been. An example is not having a directory of page numbers as most books do contain which made it difficult to find a concluding point when needed. It also could have added an adventurous twist to the beginning as well as midway and the end. That way in would have a forceful push to complete reading it. Most short story style "novels" are considered childish and don't dare to dream, but this author made a strenuous effort and greatly succeeded in executing it perfectly. This tale is a nail biter, not a head scratcher. This wonderful story has necessity for a sequel.

Rating:
Summary: My name is not angelica
Review: The story was very well it had alt of information on slavery and had a journey of a girl that came from royals and riches to slavery and poverty

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Book on Earth
Review: This book is the best book in the world. It is about a girl named Raisha and her 2 friends Dondo and Konje. They get taken from their home in Africa and get taken to St. Thomas. They get sold as slaves to Jost van Prok and his wife. Then they go to St. John where the van Proks change their names to Abraham, Apollo, and Angelica. I just have to say that Scott O'Dell is the greatest writer in the world. One of the reasons why I like this book is that it talks about the history of the St. John Slave Revolt. This is Raisha's story.

Rating:
Summary: &:-)
Review: This was thee saddest book I've ever read....I loved it though. I hope Scott O'Dell makes a sequel, for reasons I can't say.