The Good Lord's Bird

Conflict and humor blend in the epic for liberation that won the 2013 National Book Award. Henry Shackleford is an enslaved boy in the Kansas Territory in 1856. One of the great figures of the time is John Brown, a legendary abolitionist who sees armed insurrection as the only path to freedom. And when Brown arrives in Kansas, the boy is forced to leave town in the company of the abolitionist, who mistakes him for a girl. The eccentric Brown then nicknames Henry "Onion," adopting him as his lucky charm, and the young man, in order to stay alive, conceals his true identity. Little Onion can only rely on his own ingenuity to survive the escalating violence between Brown, supported by his ragtag army, and the slave owners, before the legendary raid on Harpers Ferry, where American history will take a new direction. A captivating narrative told in the voice of an elderly man reminiscing about his childhood, The Good Lord Bird will make readers laugh and think. It's a captivating adventure told with McBride's signature meticulous eye for character and detail.