Yonder

By Jabari Asim,

Book cover of Yonder

Book description

The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.

They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They are taught their captors’ tongues and their beliefs but they…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Yonder as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

When it comes to “selling the voice” in the first-person narrative, so much depends on the language and the style by which the chosen character tells the story. How convinced is the reader of this voice that promises us everything?

Let us only pay attention to Jabari Asim and his slave narrative Yonder, to know how to do it well. From the first chapter we are thrown into William’s world, the harsh truth of living on a plantation in the American South.

Once he starts narrating in his believable and lyrical voice, we feel the danger, and the hopelessness: ”I…

From Kevin's list on by writers in the first-person voice.

Want books like Yonder?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Yonder.

Browse books like Yonder

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in romantic love, slaves, and family?

Romantic Love 938 books
Slaves 106 books
Family 4,044 books