Come Juneteenth (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Come Juneteenth Elizabeth Bush Rinaldi, Ann Come Juneteenth. Harcourt, 2007246p ISBN 0-15-205947-4$17.00 R Gr. 7-10 Rose, called Sis Goose, is technically the property of Luli Holcomb's Aunt Sophie, but the light-complected young woman has been raised by the Holcombs since she was a baby and treated as a member of the family, particularly cherished as a sister by Luli and as a lover by Luli's brother Gabe. Her legal status can never be far from her mind, however, since Aunt Sophie insists on twice-yearly visits during which she halfheartedly tries to groom Sis Goose for household service, just in case she may be required to sell her. While Luli, her parents, and siblings find this treatment despicable, they are in deep denial over their even more hurtful treatment of the girl they claim to love—keeping from her the truth that slaves have been emancipated by President Lincoln since 1863, fully two years ago. When the Civil War draws to an end and Yankee troops occupy their Texas ranch, the disdainful Lt. Heffernan wastes no time in disclosing the family's lies, and a distraught Sis Goose unwisely turns her loyalty to the Yankees. Heffernan is no gentleman, though, and he abducts Sis Goose, who's pregnant with Gabe's child; Gabe and Luli follow in pursuit, but their final encounter ends in tragedy. There's plenty of melodrama here, but it's intrinsically tied to the historical reality that Texas slaveholders, largely isolated from affairs of "the States," did manage to keep their servants ignorant of the Emancipation Proclamation and their farms running on unpaid labor. Rinaldi creates in the Holcombs characters of considerable depth, who shower genuine affection on Sis Goose while protecting their financial interests, and who consider themselves benevolent and open-minded, even as they offhandedly ignore the way their love for Sis Goose affects the slaves who don't share her privileges. This title explores many of the same questions of love and freedom posed in Mildred Taylor's The Land (BCCB 10/01), and readers will be left pondering the limits of the Holcombs' culpability. Copyright © 2007 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois