The Runaway's Revenge: John Newton by Dave and Neta Jackson

Stand alone novel

Summary: 

Thirteen-year-old slave Hamilton Jones seizes his freedom when his cruel master dies on a trip to England in 1775. Driven by a desire for revenge after years of mistreatment, the boy hunts down former slave trader John Newton—the man responsible for bringing Hamilton’s mother to the United States. Hamilton wants only one thing: to make the man pay with his life for his evil crime!

But the John Newton that Hamilton meets is nothing like the horrible person he imagined. Instead of reacting with fear when threatened with death, the little man seems calm and unafraid. Newton even agrees he deserves to die—and claims to be something worse than a slave trader! Astonished, Hamilton stays to listen to the preacher’s story. What could be worse than being a slave trader?

Hamilton sees his chance for revenge . . . but will he go through with it?

Opening Lines: 

In the early morning light, Hamilton Jones stood quietly on the deck behind his master, Benjamin T. Bowdoin. The old gentleman leaned against the damp railing as the outgoing tide swung the three-masted ship slowly around in the harbor of Charles Town in the Colony of South Carolina. 

Back on the poop deck the pilot spoke to the captain, and the captain gave an order to the helmsman. He spun the wheel. There was a creaking in the rigging, and a sail caught the last of the night's offshore breeze and snapped tight. 

The Hawthorne was underway!