Grease Town
What was life like in a mid-19th century oil field? Dirty and smelly. Young readers will be plunged into that world with Titus Sullivan’s experiences in the Ontario oil boom. Titus stows away on his brother’s wagon headed for the oil fields to find work. He meets a boy from a former slave family, Moses Croucher, and together they earn money guiding tourists around Oil Springs. Titus observes the prejudice that Moses and other black people experience, such as oil workers complaining that blacks are taking jobs away from white men. Agitators cause a race riot, and witnessing the violence traumatizes Titus into losing his voice. Will he ever be able to testify in court and help bring the mob leaders to justice?
The oil boom storyline is very interesting. It is sad to realize that the former slaves who made it across the border did not always escape their troubles once they reached Canada. Titus’s narrative voice is appropriate for the period and for a child his age. A minor qualm: the dust jacket design leads the reader to expect the main focus will be on the blacks’ story, but instead it’s on Titus and his reactions to the world.
