Books
The Great Rewind
by Marlon Johnson
Jamaica, that world-famous tourist destination, brings to one’s mind lovely visions of a relaxed island life.
But in all those fancy commercials and vacation brochures you never hear much about that island’s history, legends and folklore. It almost as if something is being… hidden away.
When fifth grader Chugu Brown gets assigned to worst possible job (at least, to his thinking) at Unity School in Jamaica, he finds himself caught up in a bizarre time travel muddle, orchestrated by an overzealous witch-doctor’s apprentice.
In The Great Rewind, our very reluctant hero is zapped back to pre-colonial Jamaican times and must rely on his wits (and whatever he can remember from Social Studies class) to survive the unforgiving tropical forest, the brutal sacking of a native Indian village, capture by battle-hardened Spanish soldiers, a forced march over Jamaica’s treacherous mountains and a violent riverside showdown against the supernatural.
Now, mind you, this is the same Chugu who has refused to join the Junior Rangers, because some overnight camping would be involved.
Thankfully, though, he’s not alone – a motley crew of intrepid 1600s youngsters will cross his path as he lumbers through historical Jamaica, coming face-to-face with some of Jamaica’s most renowned legends. There’s Anacahona, the feisty Taino (native ‘Indian’) pre-teen, who desperately wants to prove to her father, the Cacique, that she’s up to the task of being one of the village defenders.
Compared to Obinna, the young enslaved African boy, Chugu is a savage lion when it comes to bravery. Lucia’s dad, the Spanish Governor, is in trouble with the Colonial Office back in Spain, and she will do anything for her dear Papa. No one else - African slaves, Tainos, whoever - matters.
And of course, we must not forget Amma, that hurricane of a fighter, a determined girl born among the free people of the hills, the people that escaped slavery and now terrorize the Spanish colonists insistent on imposing their will on the island. Chugu will need all the help he can get, because the very survival of an entire group of native and enslaved people is at stake. Our hero will learn that, somehow, 'you must do that thing which you are most afraid to do.'
Even when you’re scared stiff, with a ravenous beast inches from your face.
© 2020 Marlon Johnson