"To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting itâs bad for them. They thinks we want what they got. ⌠Thatâs why they donât want us reading."âNightjohn
"I didnât know what letters was, not what they meant, but I thought it might be something I wanted to know. To learn."âSarny
Sarny, a female slave at the Waller plantation, first sees Nightjohn when he is brought there with a rope around his neck, his body covered in scars.
He had escaped north to freedom, but he came backâcame back to teach reading. Knowing that the penalty for reading is dismemberment Nightjohn still returned to slavery to teach others how to read. And twelve-year-old Sarny is willing to take the risk to learn.
Set in the 1850s, Gary Paulsenâs groundbreaking novel is unlike anything else the award-winning author has written. It is a meticulously researched, historically accurate, and artistically crafted portrayal of a grim time in our nationâs past, brought to light through the personal history of two unforgettable characters.