Name: Grace O'Callaghan's review of She Came to Slay by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Item: She Came to Slay
Rating: 3
Author: Grace O'Callaghan

Erica Armstrong Dunbar

In the bestselling tradition of The Notorious RBG comes a lively, informative, and illustrated tribute to one of the most exceptional women in American history—Harriet Tubman—a heroine whose fearlessness and activism still resonates today. Harriet Tubman is best known as one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad. As a leading abolitionist, her bravery and selflessness has inspired generations in the continuing struggle for civil rights. Now, National Book Award nominee Erica Armstrong Dunbar presents a fresh take on this American icon blending traditional biography, illustrations, photos, and engaging sidebars that illuminate the life of Tubman as never before. Not only did Tubman help liberate hundreds of slaves, she was the first woman to lead an armed expedition during the Civil War, worked as a spy for the Union Army, was a fierce suffragist, and was an advocate for the aged. She Came to Slay reveals the many complexities and varied accomplishments of one of our nation’s true heroes and offers an accessible and modern interpretation of Tubman’s life that is both informative and engaging. Filled with rare outtakes of commentary, an expansive timeline of Tubman’s life, photos (both new and those in public domain), commissioned illustrations, and sections including “Harriet By the Numbers” (number of times she went back down south, approximately how many people she rescued, the bounty on her head) and “Harriet’s Homies” (those who supported her over the years), She Came to Slay is a stunning and powerful mix of pop culture and scholarship and proves that Harriet Tubman is well deserving of her permanent place in our nation’s history.

The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman

She Came to Slay

Mandi Jayne

Grace O'Callaghan

I did manage to finish this out with the audiobook, wouldn’t have finished it without it.

She Came to Slay is a small biography about Harriet Tubman’s life as a slave and how she played a huge role in freeing thousands of slaves. 

My favourite thing about this is obviously Harriet Tubman herself. I am completely in awe of her and admire her for her resilience and determination. From my lack of knowledge on US history I knew little of her. I’m glad to have read this to learn about such an inspiring person.

The downside of this book completely falls on the writing. It is so boring making such a remarkable story sound dull. The titles for the book and the chapters also completely disconnect from the writing. These sort of ‘modern feminist’ titles are used and the same tone doesn’t carry on in the writing. It makes them feel forced and like a marketing campaign. I think it will completely date this biography to this era. Would’ve been better had it been formatted like a typical biography.

Despite my not loving this, Harriet Tubman’s story is still one I’m glad to have read about, I just wouldn’t recommend this one.

Mandi Jayne &
She Came to Slay by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Reviews

Join the club

Mandi Jayne &She Came to Slay by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Reviews

Join the club

Mandi Jayne &
She Came to Slay by Erica Armstrong Dunbar