• Grade: 7 to 12

 

Gloria Ann Wesley is an African Nova Scotian writer who published her first book of poetry, To My Someday Child in 1975. She later published Woman, Sing (2002) and Burlap and Lace (2007). Her first young adult fiction, Chasing Freedom, was published in 2011.

Wesley’s poetry appears in three Canadian anthologies: Canada in Us Now (Harold Head, 1976), Other Voices: Writings by Blacks in Canada (Lorris Elliott, 1985) and Fire on the Water (George Elliott Clarke, 1992). Gloria Wesley holds the distinction of being the first published Black Nova Scotian poet (by Resolution of the Nova Scotia Legislature, 5 April 2007).

 

Gloria Ann Wesley's profile page

 

“…This novel of a revolutionary era, of Yanks and Africans “chasing freedom,” is arresting, with startling events, intriguing characters, and vivid language. …”

 

George Elliott Clarke

Chasing Freedom: A Novel

Best known for her poetry, Gloria Ann Wesley has written a historical-fiction novel set during the post-American Revolutionary War period, where Loyalist slaves were freed and promised a new life in Canada. The protagonist Sarah Redmond and her grandmother Lydia are two ex-slaves who travel from a South Carolina plantation to Birchtown, Nova Scotia. While Sarah dreams of opening up a dress shop, Lydia is haunted by the loss of her five children who were taken and sold when they were born.

Unlike a lot of YA historical fiction, which tends to use close third-person or first-person point of view, Wesley’s uses the thirdperson point of view as a plot device to shift from one character’s perspective to another’s, offering the reader deep insight into his or her internal struggle and the novel’s overall story.

Being a YA novel, this should be primarily Sarah’s story. Yet, the central plot focuses on Lydia’s quest to find her children, so at times it feels like this is more her story than Sarah’s. As well, references to specific dates make the novel seem more like a work of non-fiction or a biography, rather than a piece of historical fiction.

Still, this novel is rich in detail. Wesley’s luscious description of setting intertwines beautifully with the historical narrative. This book is excellent for classroom novel study and for teens interested in this period.

Chasing Freedom

Sarah Redmond’s father steals away in the dead of night to join the British army with its promises of freedom, land and provisions. But before he can return, the American Revolutionary war ends, and Sarah and her grandmother Lydia are among the loyalist slaves sent to Birchtown, Nova Scotia — the first all-black community in North America. Their struggle for freedom is just beginning as they find friends, foes and hidden family secrets.