6th+Grade+Book+Reviews


 * BOOK REVIEWS **

Elijah of Buxton by Quinn S.         B3 English Elijah is easily the most well known kid in Buxton. Being the first child born free in this small town in Canada should be enough to get him well liked by everyone in town. But despite his rock-chunking skills and his responsibility, most people just see a “fra-gile” child who is scared of everything. However, Buxton is home to a strange man called the Preacher, who takes Elijah to a strange night carnival for white people and owns what he calls a mystery pistol. He has promised Elijah that he could shoot the mystery pistol many times, yet it never happened. Why does he have the pistol? No one in the town knows. After a long while of normal life, terrible news reaches the town. Mrs. Holton’s husband John, the one she had been saving up to buy free from slavery, has died from a severe beating. This puts the town in a serious disorder, as Mrs. Holton was a cheerful woman. Although the letter was just sent, she already knew. It was easy for her to recover, but as anyone knows, it is impossible to recover from the death of a loved one. Unfortunately, now she has nothing to do with the money she has been saving up to buy away her beloved husband. Meanwhile, Leroy-a hardworking and talented wood carver- has just made a beautiful carving for Mrs. Holton to help her recover. On it it read, “FOR THE LOVE OF MY HUSBAND, JOHN HOLTON, WHO PASSED ON MAY 7TH, 1859, BUT STILL LIVES. THE BODY IS NOT MADE TO ENDURE, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING INSIDE SO STRONG THAT FLIES FOREVER. Mrs. Holton was so shocked and grateful that she gets out a box to give to Leroy. Leroy is a little unsatisfied until Mrs. Holton tells him to open it. Inside is nothing other than twenty two hundred dollars. Leroy now has enough money to buy free his entire family, including his beloved son Ezekiel. However, his family is enslaved far across Lake Michigan. Leroy wants to rush tight in and buy out his family right away, but Elijah’s father urges him to wait and use a slow process. Strangely enough, the Preacher steps in and volunteers to take all the money Leroy has saved and the money that Mrs. Holton has given him and says that he will buy free the family. Leroy is about to agree with him, but Elijah’s father tells him not to. After much debating of when and who is going to go and deliver the money, it is decided that the Preacher and another citizen of Buxton named Mr. Highgate will go to Michigan together to deliver the money and set free Leroy’s family. After weeks of waiting, Elijah’s best friend Cooter runs in the town with the news that a horse drawn cart is bringing in Mr. Highgate. Without the Preacher. His right eye was, “Swole shut” and there was a straight scar line across his forehead. The only thing Mr. Highgate could say was, “He done shot me. He shot me.” Turns out that the Preacher tried to go off gambling in the night with the money. Mr. Highgate tried to stop the Preacher, so he pulled out his shotgun to try to convince him. Little did he know that the Preacher was slowly drawing out his fancy silver pistol. Mr. Highgate noticed the pistol and tried to shoot, but all there was was an empty click. Mr. Highgate knew that he had loaded the gun beforehand, but still nothing. Then, “He get a smile on his face that look like death hisself, and raise that pistol till it aiming dead twixt my eyes…” and then none. No one in the town knows what to do, so the adults hold a meeting. But when Elijah’s father tells Leroy why the meeting is being held, he emits a horrifying scream and throws his axe some thirty feet. Elijah, being “fra-gile”, runs for his life. Later on, Elijah hopes to sneak into the meeting. When he is just about to make it, a hand comes over his mouth. It’s Leroy, and he wants Elijah to come with him to kill the Preacher and get back the money. After much “persuading”, Elijah comes along. Elijah and Leroy ride the horses like mad and before long, both the horses and Leroy are tired. They take a quick rest and before long, it is obvious that Leroy is a lot more tired than the horses are. Elijah suggests that they should camp for the night, but Leroy pushes on. Almost as soon as they get on the horses, Elijah notices Leroy sliding off the horse. Leroy’s last words guarantee that Elijah will do his best to get the money and free his family. Now Elijah is on his own. His clues and travels lead him to a worn down farm, where he finds a family of slaves and a body that looks a lot like the Preacher. The kind family of six, although beaten, worn down, and naked, show kindness to Elijah and tell him the Preacher’s story. He gambled off all the money and was killed and found dead in the farm. Elijah failed. He wants to go back, but he feels like he is missing something. The woman in the slave family kept saying how her baby seemed to love Elijah, but he couldn’t understand. Suddenly, he realizes. He goes back into the barn and-after a long discussion- “borrows” the woman’s baby to set it free. The woman is overjoyed at the thought that her baby will be free. Elijah takes “Hope” home and she sleeps the whole way… ** Bottom Line: ** This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me scream into a pillow on various occasions. Curtis’ humorous style of writing can intrigue any type of reader. The characters are very well developed and they support the story very well. One of the best books I have ever read. You NEED to read this book! ** __ Grading __ **  · Character development: 20/20  · Plotline: 19/20  · Writing Style: 20/20  · Interest Level: 20/20  · Overall Writing: 20/20 Final Grade: 99/100