Chasing the Nightbird

Russell’s first novel takes place in 1851, a turbulent and significant year in the diverse port town of New Bedford, Mass. Fourteen-year-old Lucky is a Cape Verdean raised on his father’s whaling ship, Nightbird, until his father dies and his estranged “lowdown, barnacle-scrapin’ scalawag” of an older brother, Fernando Fortuna, “shanghais” him. Fernando forces Lucky to work at the dangerous textile mill to settle their father’s debt with him, leaving Lucky crestfallen, his dream of being the best rigger on the eastern seaboard suffocated a little more each day. When Lucky meets Daniel, a fugitive slave, and Emmeline Rowland, a Quaker captain’s daughter who offers him a place on her uncle’s ship, Lucky is pulled unwillingly into the abolitionist movement and forced to look beyond himself. Without slowing the story’s pace, Russell gives readers plenty to think about regarding the turbulent racial dynamics of the period—Lucky, who is dark-skinned yet free, initially sees little connection between his life and the plight of slaves. Strong-willed and good-hearted, Lucky is an especially vibrant hero in this multifaceted and suspenseful historical adventure. Ages 10–14. (Sept.)