Zetta Elliott

Dragons in a Bag
Dragons in a Bag, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: Seemed like good at the time.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: HCPL
Dates Read: 2/27/24 - 2/28/24
Stars: 3 Stars
Narrator(s): Ron Butler

The Characters:

Jaxon
Ma
Jaxon’s Mother, Treb, Mr. Ambrose, Jaxon’s friends whose names I cannot remember

The Story:

This is an interesting world. It was an excellent adventure, rich world building and the characters felt very real. It is very clearly the beginning of a longer story. I think this would be an excellent book to read with your 3rd, 4th, 5th grader. Not sure if I’ll read book 2 though as I said it reads very young.… (mer)

I really enjoyed this. The setup at the beginning is a bit slow - going into this knowing it was a time travel story, I was eager to get to the time travel part, but Elliott takes her time building Genna's world in Brooklyn, New York. Her family life is rife with trouble and she's desperate for a way out, wishing to move her family to a nice brownstone in a better part of town and study pschiatry in college. Sometimes she visits a fountain in a local garden and throws pennies in as she makes wishes. but being thrown back to the American Civil War is not what she had in mind. This is a point in history that I haven't seen written in fiction. When Genna gains consciousness in the past, she has left her mother, her siblings, and her boyfriend behind. The Emancipation Proclamation has just been passed and all slaves are freed; but freedom doesn't come as neatly as all that. When Genna first wakes, she is in so much pain she can barely move, and slave catchers load her body onto their cart in hopes of getting a reward for her discovery. She narrowly avoids the fate they intend and finds herself in an orphanage, and then as a nanny for the small son of a local abolitionist doctor.

This book is a look at America's dark past and the roots of my people. A draft is in effect and many young men are marching off to war. Black men, women and children attempt to run north and escape the South's desperate grip on slavery, and not all will make it. Tension between blacks, whites, and immigrants lead to violent riots. Genna has moderate comfort living with the doctor and his family (including his volatile wife), but she is learning that a young black woman in ninteenth century Brooklyn cannot be truly free.

Elliott covers a lot of ground in discussing history and its relation to modern issues. Genna's life in the past is in fascinating contrast with her modern life. Genna is reminded frequently that black Americans truly have come far from these brutal beginnings, but still have a long way to go. Even in the 21st century, she and her family live in poverty and struggle to survive. Her personality between the two periods is also in contrast. In the 21st century, Genna seems quiet and meek, but determined. But in the past, even her insecure personality is revolutionary. Her conflicts with the doctor's older black servant, Nannie, and his wife, Mrs. Brant, alternate between troubling and hilarious.

The character development is great; characters have room to grow and reveal their layers, not always neatly. And even when they don't agree, Genna and her friends have only each other to look to for survival. There were times when the book felt a bit stream-of-consciousness. Certain elements would pop up, and characters would be introduced, that made me wonder if they'd been introduced before and I simply forgot, or if Elliott had just decided to insert them at that moment. Nevertheless, this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. It also ends on a cliffhanger, and from what I understand, Elliott is working on a sequel.… (mer)