Review of Good Fortune by Noni Carter

Good Fortune

By Noni Carter

Synopsis

Ayanna Bahati lives in a small African village when she is brutally kidnapped, along with her brother, and forced onto a slave ship to America. As Ayanna, renamed Anna, rises from the cotton fields to the master’s house, she finds the familial love she’s been yearning for in elderly Mary and Mary’s son Daniel—but she is also faced with more threats to her survival. Risking everything to escape the plantation, Anna manages to make it north and to freedom, eventually settling in the free black community of Hudson, Ohio, and educating herself to become a teacher.

Review

Good Fortune  is a novel written by Noni Carter, a great writer with a very powerful message to share. While most immigrants are people running from war, or poverty to a place where they can get a better life, some have no choice. Good Fortune is about those who had no choice. This book is about the forced immigration of African natives, brought to America to spend their lives as slaves. Good Fortune follows the heartfelt and truly inspirational journey of Sarah, a young girl abducted from her family in Africa and bonded into slavery, as she attempts to escape the brutal life of a slave and run north to freedom. Sarah had to give up and leave behind a lot including her name, family, and friends as she made the risk to escape to a free and educated life.

This novel was an amazing story about hardship and determination. Good Fortune was, such an easy book to get into. The connection I was able to develop with all the characters is indescribable. It almost seemed like I could feel for myself all the pain and sorrow that Sarah had to endure while migrating throughout the world to find freedom and the education that she desperately thrived for. This book had such an amazing message that I think everyone should experience for themselves. It really has shown me about how education is so important to those who may not ever get to gain one. It made me think about how much we take for granted the education we receive for little to no cost, while others have to fight for theirs. Good fortune, I believe, is an extremely important piece of literature and I would recommend this story to anyone looking for a good read.