Hush

by Donna Jo Napoli

Summary: Melkorka and her sister Brigid are Irish princesses in the time of the Vikings. When their brother's hand is cruelly and randomly cut off to settle a gambling debt, their father hatches a plan to avenge him. This plan is dangerous, though, so he disguises his daughters and sends them to what he thinks is safety to let the danger pass. During their journey, they are kidnapped, and soon realize they are on a slave ship bound halfway across the world. The girls decide not to speak a word to each other, or to anyone else. Will their decision to hush save them, or be their undoing?

My thoughts: As modern Americans, we often think of slavery only in terms of what happened here on our soil. This book is set around 900 A.D., and is an interesting reminder that many groups and nationalities have endured the tragedy of slavery at one point or another in world history. The horrible things Melkorka lives through and witnesses are hard to believe, and her strength is inspirational. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the ending of this book. It was very disturbing, and not necessarily in a good way.