Book Review: “Juba!” by Walter Dean Myers
“Juba!” by Walter Dean Myers (2015)
Genre: Historical Fiction, YA
Page Length: 208 pages (hardcover edition)
Synopsis:
In New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers’s last novel, he delivers a gripping story based on the life of a real dancer known as Master Juba, who lived in the nineteenth century.
This engaging historical novel is based on the true story of the meteoric rise of an immensely talented young black dancer, William Henry Lane, who influenced today’s tap, jazz, and step dancing. With meticulous and intensive research, Walter Dean Myers has brought to life Juba’s story. (description from Goodreads)
Review:
I have always admired Myers books as a child and when I happened upon Juba I was really excited to read it. This historical fiction novels follows the life of Juba, a young Black dancer, and his career in the Arts. I appreciated the usage of pictures, newspaper clippings, maps to illustrate the story and how it gave readers the context for the story. It was interesting to learn about the Five Points area in New York and it’s community of people.
Though this a story about dancing and how Juba found his passion in life it also discusses racism, race relations, and slavery in the era. It goes into some depth about minstrel shows and how Juba strives hard to break free of the imagery and stereotypes. Juba faced much adversity but did his best to rise above in his circumstances. The novel also points out the heavy juxtaposition of England and America because of the views on Slavery.
This was a short read and I wished it was a bit longer. But it also reflects the timeline of Juba’s life since he died so young. If you were looking for a book about historical figures I would recommend this novel. It’s filled with rich history and a interesting narrative. Myers is a writer that you should definitely check out if you haven’t read his works before.
TW: Racism, Some Violence, Death
Final Verdict:
I’ve only read a couple of Myers’ books and I liked them. I always had the feeling that he was writing more for boys, but I never found it hard to relate to the characters anyhow. I’m not sure, but I think he might have had a book about writing, too?
He does write primarily male characters, but the one that stood out most to me as a kid was reading Monster. I also think he also wrote a book on writing as well.
Enjoyed the review.