Meet Addy

I first read this book more than 20 years ago, when I was eight years old. It's just as moving as I remember it being. Never let anyone tell you that it's impossible to write about the horrors of slavery to eight year olds in ways that they will understand.

In the first chapter, Addy is whipped and describes a memory of seeing her older brother whipped to the point of being covered in blood. An overseer forces Addy to eat live worms as punishment for not removing all the worms from a row of plants.

The emotions that 9-year-old Addy experiences throughout the book are incredibly real, and it's absolutely powerful.

I read these all as a kid but reading it as an adult I was so struck by how well this walks the tightrope of depicting the horrors of slavery without being too graphic for children.

Also I cried like 3 times at it.

Anyway here's a podcast about it

http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-76-american-girl/