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First Freedom: The Story of Opal Lee and Juneteenth by Angélique Roché


Rating:

5 Stars


Themes:

Graphic Novel, History


Thoughts:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Straight off the bat this is a great book, I loved the dedication and the beginning to the preface was beautiful so it gave me a great indication of what I was getting myself into. I thought the beginning of the story with the mirror taking us into Opal’s childhood. Opal is such a resilient woman and she has a really amazing story. I thought the Bible quotes throughout were a nice touch since Opal mentions her closeness to God at the beginning. This could be a great way to explain the importance of Juneteenth and the recent legal holiday protection to children as the story is easy to follow and it doesn’t speak in an overly complicated manner. I also appreciated the extended timeline, further reading and having so many sources and resources at the end and there’s lots of further learning to be done from there.


Favourite Quote:

“We have simply got to make people aware that none of us are free until we're all free, and we aren't free yet.”

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