Nightjohn (Sarny)
The average reader will spend 1 hour and 52 minutes reading this book at 250 WPM (words per minute).
To find your reading speed you can take one of our WPM tests.
Sponsored Content
Book Info
Author
Paulsen, Gary
Word Count
28,000 words
based on page count
Pages
112 pages
Buy
Edition Publisher
Laurel Leaf
Edition Publish Date
1995-01-01
Identifiers
ISBN-10: 0440219361
ISBN-13: 9780440219361
Description
"To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad for them. They thinks we want what they got . . . . That's why they don't want us reading." —Nightjohn
"I didn't know what letters was, not what they meant, but I thought it might be something I wanted to know. To learn." — Sarny
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 back—came back to teach reading. Knowing that the penalty for reading is dismemberment Nightjohn still retumed 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 Paulsen's groundbreaking new 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 nation's past, brought to light through the personal history of two unforgettable characters.
Twelve-year-old Sarny's brutal life as a slave becomes even more dangerous when a newly arrived slave offers to teach her how to read.
Sponsored Content