Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 12/01/2016 Gr 8 Up—In his search for the lost treasure of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha in 1972, "Moe" Molinar uncovered a mound of iron shackles on the ocean floor. His discovery, however, didn't lead marine archaeologists to the sunken Spanish ship but rather to the Henrietta Marie, an English slave ship that sank off the coast of Key West, FL, almost 300 years prior. Twenty years later, journalist and scuba diver Cottman was asked to chronicle the ship's history, but what started out as a routine assignment turned into something much more personal for the writer: it became one man's quest for answers about our collective past and relationship with slavery. Cottman previously recounted his pursuits in his adult novel The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie: An African-American's Spiritual Journey To Uncover a Sunken Slave Ship's Past, making him vastly familiar with the subject matter, especially considering that he has been at the forefront of documenting the ship's story for almost 25 years. However, readers eager to be regaled with detailed descriptions of Cottman's investigative adventures undersea and on land will be disappointed. The narrative is often short and choppy, jumping from one moment or line of inquiry to the next without fleshing the scene out. The Henrietta Marie as a subject is secondary to the author's personal reflections and questions on the matter. VERDICT Although Cottman's role in bringing the Henrietta Marie's story to light is praiseworthy, readers seeking a less obtrusive and more thorough exploration of the transatlantic slave trade, marine archaeology, or sunken ships should look elsewhere.—Audrey Sumser, Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, OH - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 12/01/2016 *Starred Review* The idea of identity is at the center of this fascinating narrative nonfiction book about the slave ship Henrietta Marie, which sank off the coast of Florida in the early 1700s. Cottman, an African American journalist and scuba diver, was moved to join the investigation of the wreck of the Henrietta Marie thanks to his curiosity about his own ancestry: “Could it have been possible that any of my ancestors had been on this slave ship?” His search takes him to London to research the iron worker who made the shackles discovered in the wreck, some small enough for children; to Barbados, where 188 slaves were purchased at an auction by the same man; and to countries in West Africa to walk the land where those Africans were captured. This truly multidisciplinary volume, an adaptation of his 1999 adult title The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie, engagingly explores a wide scope of topics, including the history of slavery, marine archaeology, and contemporary racial discrimination, culminating in a dive down to the wreck itself. Every bit of this concise, detailed book feels personal, and Cottman’s exploration and investigation of the wreck is rich with intrigue and poignant, thought-provoking questions. Color photographs show artifacts from the Henrietta Marie, and end material includes references and additional reading. Part mystery, part history, part self-discovery, this is a stunning trip well worth taking. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.