Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington’s Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away; Young Readers Edition

Description

Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington’s Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away documents the complete life of Ona Judge through a historical lens. Whether she is escaping from her “owners” or working to put a roof over her childrens’ heads, every moment of her life is full of drama.

I love historical fiction and have read a lot to supplement my history studies, but this book failed to engross me. Obviously, it is well researched (the selected bibliography is six pages!) and there are relevant newspaper clippings included in the book, along with an introduction explaining primary sources, but authors Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Kathleen Van Cleve didn’t bring Ona’s story to life. Series like the “Royal Diaries” and “Dear America” pull the reader into history by writing in the first person, but Never Caught, written in the third person, was not captivating, dry, and ultimately failed to tell a good story.

I would recommend this book to older history lovers aged twelve to fifteen years. It is definitely not a book for younger students because it won’t hold their interest, but maybe teachers would like to read parts of it to their class when studying slavery as the historical facts seem well researched and accurate.