Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Twelve-year-old Will Samuels and his parents are sharecroppers on Texas cotton fields in 1888. The Emancipation Proclamation is in the rearview mirror, but slavery and racism continue to cast long shadows over their livelihoods and opportunities. So, when Will’s father learns about the Oklahoma Land Rush, the father and son set out on a dangerous journey to stake their claim on a new life.

Along the way, Will and his father have a series of encounters that test their strength and determination. Some men mean to thwart or even attack them because of their skin color. They also meet an impressive but mysterious man named Caesar, later discovered to have the distinction of serving as a black Union soldier in the Civil War. Caesar joins their traveling party, and together they face all manner of hardships in order to reach Oklahoma and the promise of land.

At its heart, Will’s Race for Home is a coming-of-age story for Will, caught between his parents’ view of him as a boy and his desire to prove himself as a young man.

Reading Level: 9-12
Read Aloud Age: 8+

Will’s Race for Home meets a critical need in middle grade fiction for modern books that center fathers and sons. Rhodes depicts a fully formed and complex relationship between Will and his father George, who is both firm and loving in his parenting. And in a current age of rampant male loneliness, how refreshing to see the celebration of friendship between Caesar and George, a relationship of mutual respect and affection.

This book moves briskly and is filled with action and danger. In one of the tensest chapters of the book, Will, along with his father and Caesar, must cross the Red River in order to complete their journey to Oklahoma. It is a harrowing scene. There is nothing inappropriately violent in Rhodes’ descriptions, but the tragic death of both people and animals remains a cruel reality of the river crossing. At another key moment Will defends his trusted mule Belle from a rattlesnake attack.  And at the close of the book, Will must confront a group of white men who threaten to steal his family’s new land – and he does so with newfound nerve and a firearm. No violence here, but the stakes are high.

Will’s Race for Home would be a great fit for your upper elementary or middle school boys who would rather be playing outside than quietly reading. There are blissfully brief chapters, and the prose is straightforward and unfussy. This is a book for your young doers and adventurers.

While Will’s Race for Home is not a Christian title, the author implies that the Samuels family holds to a Christian faith, and their faith is depicted in a positive light.

A brief Afterword contains the author’s opinions on 1) the need for historical fiction that speaks to forgotten African-American history such as the Tulsa Race Massacre; and 2) the American government’s injustices committed against Native American people groups. She also poses a rather sophisticated, adult series of questions about the meaning of land and land ownership in general: “Is land to be enjoyed and cared for by all? Should it be owned? By the few? The many? Is land a prerequisite for power and wealth? Or a necessary refuge for a family, a community? A home?”  While not all kids will care enough to read the Afterword, parents should be aware and ready to engage in a discussion about these bigger questions.

Language:
The reader should expect some racist, derogatory language directed toward the Samuels family and Caesar. But the ‘n word’ is not used. No cursing or swearing.

Other Things to Know:
There is mention of some people in Boomtown drinking alcohol; some display reckless behavior like shooting their guns in the air and George refers to them as “drunks.” In one campfire scene, George and Caesar share brandy from a flask.
Parents should be aware of some violence in Will’s Race for Home. Guns were a way of life in the American Old West, and while there are no graphic descriptions of gun violence, the threat of danger constantly looms over the Samuels’ journey to Oklahoma. George, Caesar, and even Will must be prepared to use guns in self-defense, and Will does use a gun to kill a rattlesnake that threatens his mule. He also confronts a group of men who threaten to steal his new land in Oklahoma, and in this encounter, he uses a gun to intimidate and threaten them in order to protect his family’s claim. But ultimately, he does not need to fire the gun.

This review is written by Good Book Mom contributor, Nancy. To learn more about Nancy, click HERE.

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