Anacaona

May 15, 2005
Gr. 5-8. In her second novel for young people, part of the Royal Diaries series, Danticat writes a gripping story that shows European invasion from a native Caribbean viewpoint. In fifteenth-century Haiti, Anacaona is part of a royal lineage that rules the Taino people. After her coming-of-age ceremony, she marries a neighboring chief and learns battle techniques to defend against warring tribes. Then "pale men" arrive from Europe. Although Anacaona's people win a vicious battle against the Spanish explorers, children who read the epilogue will learn about the ultimate devastation that Europeans brought to the island worlds. The diary format raises several issues. A preface acknowledges that Anacaona, whose society had no written language, wouldn't have kept a diary. Also, the text is filled with long, purposeful explanations of Taino customs, which prompts questions about the division between factual and fictional content, as will some of the extensive back matter. Still, readers will connect with Danticat's immediate, poetic language, Anacaona's finely drawn growing pains, and the powerful, graphic story that adds a vital perspective to the literature about Columbus and European expansion in the Americas.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)