Cane Warriors
Age 12+
Historical Fiction Adventure Stories True Stories
Nobody free till everybody free.
Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is working on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, and the day of the uprising approaches... Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky’s War in Jamaica, 1760.
Creators
Alex Wheatle is the author of several acclaimed novels, many of them inspired by experiences from his childhood. He was born in Brixton to Jamaican parents, and spent most of his childhood in a Surrey children’s home. Following a short stint in prison following the Brixton uprising of 1981, he wrote poems and lyrics and became known as the Brixtonbard. Alex has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, and was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2008.
Reviews
Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion with the full knowledge and understanding that change can only happen through words and actions
It’s passionate, important and Wheatle’s best novel yet
Children's Book of the Week, Books of the Year, The Times
A vivid and unforgettable fight for freedom, seen through the eyes of 14-year-old Moa, Wheatle’s tale gives voice to those seldom heard
Books of the Year, Observer
Superb … [An] affecting story of courage, bloodshed and commitment to freedom at all costs
The Guardian
The importance of this book cannot be overstated. Alex Wheatle takes the truth, and creates fiction to illuminate that truth. He too is a warrior. A word warrior. I saw my ancestors in this book, and now I know that Alex and I really are brothers.
