Reviewer: Lori Graham
Title: William Henry is a Fine Name
Author: Cathy Gohlke
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0-8024-9973-8
Release Date: October 2006
Genre/Sub-genre: Inspirational/Historical
Year/Setting: 1859/Southern United States
Overall Rating: 5.0
Sexual Content Rating: None
Language (Profanity) Rating: None
Violent Content Rating: Mild
Cathy's Website: None found
Robert has led a pretty idyllic life until his thirteenth year and his eyes begin to open to the world around him. Robert was raised on a very unique plantation, Lauralea. The owner, Mr. Heath, realized he couldn’t own another human so he had freed his slaves. For those who wanted to, he provided them with papers and passage to the Northern U.S. or even Canada. For those who wanted to stay, he provided them a home and a portion of the crops from the plantation. Everyone on the plantation was equal. Granted, the owner made the final decisions with aid from his foreman (Robert’s father) but they respected the opinions of those who lived and worked with them. It was a plantation of family.
Robert’s best friend was William Henry. During this critical year, Robert began to see some of the differences between himself and William Henry and it wasn’t just skin color. Robert began to question where his father and Mr. Heath would disappear to in the middle of the night and the questions really increased when they brought home a wounded man.
Robert’s questions continued to increase when he and his mama went further south to his grandfather’s plantation. For the first time in his life, Robert saw what it was like for blacks who were truly slaves. It was almost more than his heart could stand and Robert had to figure out what he stood for. Not to mention what he was willing to give for what he stood for. He also had to question God and where was He while all of this was going on?
Cathy Gohlke’s manuscript is a wonderfully built drama centering around the Underground Railroad. The world that existed then comes alive in the telling of this fictional tale based on the reality of that time period. Robert may be a little boy in the beginning of the story but he is a man of incredible depth by the end. Granted he didn’t physically age much but the maturity the reader experiences through his thoughts and feelings is overwhelming. While Robert is the main character, the secondary characters are integral to the maturity of Robert not to mention to the decisions he comes to in the course of that maturity.
There isn’t a single thing I would change about this book and I would recommend this even for school project reading because it does show so many aspects of the personal involvement in the Underground Railroad. Yes, there are some historical facts and figures but this focuses on the people’s hearts and emotions. Very well done.
Lori
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