Review: Gus: Based on True Events by G.S. Willis

My Review: 

I've found that I really enjoy stories like these, true accounts of people's history. Often, history is told from a cold point of view, but stories like these make it personal. History is always something to learn from, not repeat.

I love this story. The situations Gus found himself in, and not even by his own hand, he was lucky, quick, and smart to find a way out. Knowing the people in this story are real leaves more of an impact than any other fictional story.

5 stars.

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Summary: 

Being born in 1920’s Depression-era Mississippi is a hard life. It can be even harder if you are Black. Gus, born of two worlds. With a black mother and a white father, the law of the times dictated, access to one and not the other.

Though he has a loving family, ongoing tensions between him and his mother push Gus to make a critical decision. At twelve years old unbeknownst to his family, Gus leaves home early one morning long before the rooster crows. But he is not prepared for the dangers and life-threatening encounters that unfold. Being alone and Black in 1930’s Jim Crow Mississippi could often feel like being the hunted. Gus’s struggle to survive spark an awakening of his latent extrasensory gifts. Sleeping abilities that help to guide him; but all life lessons come at a cost. Will the lessons learned be enough to save him?

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