The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

I read a book called The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox. This book won the John Newbery Medal, and it is loved by many people. The genre of this book is historical fiction, and it takes place in the 1840's in New Orleans. The protagonist of this book is Jessie, a thirteen year old boy who lives in New Orleans with his mother and her sister. Back in the 1840's, there were slave markets in New Orleans where African Americans were sold. Jessie went to slave markets to see the slaves even his mother told him not to go. One day his mother was out of candles, so she told Jessie to borrow some candles from her aunt. On his way back home from his aunt's house, he gets kidnapped by two men, and he gets forced to aboard a ship to Africa. Jessie realizes he was on a slave ship, and discovers that he was taken to be the "slave dancer" of the ship. A slave dancer has to play his fife to make the slaves dance to keep them fit during the long voyage. So as the ship's boy, he plays his fife, and makes them dance. During the long voyage, Jessie learns the realities of sea life, and the brutality that the slaves face. Can Jessie get back home to New Orleans? Find it out! Readers of this book can learn how terrible the slaves were treated back in those days. It was a fantastic book, and I recommend this book to everybody who likes historical fiction!