1 Nightjohn

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Spaghetti Book Club - Book Reviews by Kids for Kids

Nightjohn

Written by Gary Paulsen


Reviewed by Andrew M. (age 12)

I liked reading Night John by Gary Paulsen. Reading this novel was a positive experience for me because I don?t like to read. This is one of the best novels I have ever read.

All the characters were believable and interesting. This novel told how slaves were treated in the sassy south . My favorite character is Nightjohn. Nightjohn is a slave that escaped to the north to learn how to read and write. He meets a young girl named Sarny. Sarny wants Nightjohn to teach her how to read and write. She learns the letters A, B and G. Sarny gets so excited she learned her first word, she starts writing bag in the dirt. She gets caught by Mr. Waller, the plantation owner, wants to know who taught her to read. Mr. Waller blames her mom and her mom is going to get whipped. Nightjohn says he taught her to read. Night John got two of his toes cut off from the whip. Now Night John teaches Sarny the whole alphabet. After that Nightjohn went to teach more people how to read on other plantations.

I learned don?t judge a book by its cover because Nightjohn could be predictable sometimes, but he really is mysterious. In conclusion, I would recommend this book because it is full of surprises. It tells every single thing slaves did. Nightjohn probably would be your favorite slave because he is full of surprises. You should read Night John because it has adventure around every corner.

Andrew M.
is a student in
The White Tigers