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Annie is the latest member of her family to have been chosen to travel in time. It’s a tradition that has gone on for years; upon their 13th birthday, select members of the family are initiated into the biggest secret imaginable. Usually, the travellers simply document the families history, and Annie does this through her incredible and rare artistic talent. But it’s also up to her to try to unravel the knots of the past, to try to figure out who the Unknown Ancestor is, and to try to ensure that they can finally rest in peace.
The Time Travels of Annie Sesstry: Missouri’s Memories starts off incredibly strong, with a hard hitting first person account of living and dying through the horrific slave trade as a prologue. The narrator is angry; angry at their people’s plight. Angry that even after the emancipation, their people are still mistreated and oppressed. It’s a harrowing initiation into the book – you feel the Unknown Ancestor’s rage leaking through the page.
As the book begins proper, we meet Annie. The most recent descendant of the Unknown Ancestor to travel through time. She’s dreaming of her Great, Great Grandmother, but it’s not quite a dream; she had stumbled and grazed her hands and when she awakens, her hands are bleeding. She quickly dismisses the phenomenon, more concerned about her upcoming fall formal dance at school, and the boy she’s got her eye on.
Honestly, I enjoyed this book – no. Actually, I loved it. The past crimes of the Landowners in the United States is something that should be, in my opinion, taught in every classroom. It’s a fact that we all need to face; White people treated Black people appallingly. It’s a basic truth.
But, I had to knock the rating down because in places there were some narration issues in the main text. The perspective would shift from Annie to her mother, to her sister. There was confusing dialogue, and some issues with the tense. Those aside, though – buy this book. It’s a beautiful story, with a unique plot line, that tells us all important truths.
S. A
This book was reviewed as part of the Reedsy Discovery Reviewer Program. You can read the original review here
You can buy Missouri’s Memories: Book Two in The Time Travels of Annie Sesstry here.