This book feels like lore, like it could have been passed down through the years, told to generations by fires to remind the young and old of the malleability and tenacity of the spirit of the African peoples. I absolutely loved each of the characters in this book and how they represented a different part of Liberia's (and Africa's) story.

The outcast tribal woman who resurrected in spite of it all.
The freed slave who endured until he could no more and revolted against cruelty in the name of love.
The interracial Jamaican Maroon who escaped not a cruel taskmaster, but a curious colonialist and scientist, his father, who saw him as little more than a test subject and a piece of property.
The spirit of the land herself, Mama Africa,who wrapped around her children and cocooned them with love, calling them back home, loving them when no one else did, protecting them when no one else could.