Review: "Our Own Country" by Jodi Daynard

Eliza Boylston was born in 1756 to a wealthy family in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her family was very privileged with many slaves and she enjoys the best of everything. She follows in her parents footsteps, viewing the slaves as possessions instead of people until she becomes close to the family cook and her young son. About this time, the colonies start to revolt against the British rule. Money is tight and the cook’s young son is sold leaving both the mother and Eliza devastated. She realizes the injustice of this. Then, the unthinkable happens, Eliza falls in love and bears a child with a slave that belongs to her uncle. As she struggles to free him so they can share a life, she matures and becomes a better person.

The author has a very even paced, methodical writing style. The story is told in chronological order in the third person. It moves at a good tempo and all lose ends are tied up at the conclusion of the story. The storyline itself is intriguing and brings to light how slaves were treated in the northern colonies before the Declaration of Independence was written. It was recognized that the institution of slavery was wrong, but there were bigger issues facing the colonists and it would have to be dealt with at a later time.

I enjoyed this book. While it is historical fiction, it attempts to explain why the founding fathers did not deal with slavery at that time. It can be read and enjoyed by both young and old readers and I highly recommend it to both.