Just finished reading I, Juan de Pareja, a Newbery Medal book, excellent! The New York Times Book Review says this about it: "This brilliant historical novel captures and holds the attention from its rhythmic opening sentence - 'I, Juan de Pareja, was born into slavery'- all the way through to the end. . . A splendid book, vivid unforgetable."
Since I didn't read the back cover or the Afterword until I finished the book, I didn't realize it was about REAL people! It was great as a novel, but even greater considering it's a historical novel!
The Afterword began this way: "Whenever one tells a story about personages who actually lived, it becomes necessary to hand many invented incidents, characters and events upon the thin thread of truth which has come down to us. The threads of the lives of Velázquez and Pareja are weak and broken; very little, for certain, is known about them." And it gets more interesting from there on!
I loved this book! I know you will too!
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