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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Incorporating the Gullah-Geechee ancestry of the region, What You Leave Behind explores the Low Country region’s culture and history, with a beautifully written story of family and community. I absolutely loved this book, particularly the character of Ruth, whose story unfolds slowly, along with Deena’s mother Libby and Delilah, to guide Deena. Wanda M. Morris is now an auto-buy author for me!
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First, a trigger warning. This book deals heavily with the grief of losing a parent. Having recently lost my mother myself, this part of the story was hard to read at times and reflected some of my own feelings of going through that. “Grief can be a sneaky little bitch like that, cutting your heart open in the most unlikely places, and each slice as fresh as the first.”
That said, I LOVED this book. It was beautifully, heartbreakingly descriptive right from the start. It grips you from the first page and I could not stop reading. This book had me suspicious of everyone and my mind went down many different twists and turns to guess what the ending would be. Just when you think you have it figured out, the whole story flips around in the best way. I enjoy the unique way the different points of view are written. Keeps the story moving and the questions coming. Will definitely read this book again and am excited to read more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Murder
Deena Wood’s life has fallen apart in the aftermath of losing her beloved mother, her marriage, and her prestigious job at an Atlanta law firm. She needs what the Geechee people of coastal Georgia call a “dayclean,” a fresh start.
She returns to her childhood home in Brunswick, Georgia to try to put the pieces back together. But living at home with her Dad and new Stepmom proves to be quite a challenge. One day Deena stumbles across an old man on the island who is fighting to keep his family land and he thinks she's there to try to take it from him. Things quickly spiral out of control from there and she finds herself involved in the middle of some shady business going down in her hometown. There are so many secrets , lies and danger ahead for her and several others. I loved watching her get her mojo back and help the people in her hometown. A really good story of suspense and smalltown drama with a little bit of a love story thrown in.
Thank you so much to @netgalley, @wandamowrites, Cindy from @thoughtsfromapage podcast for her early reads program and @williammorrrow for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. I cannot wait for the author chat for this one to learn more about the inspiration for this book!
She returns to her childhood home in Brunswick, Georgia to try to put the pieces back together. But living at home with her Dad and new Stepmom proves to be quite a challenge. One day Deena stumbles across an old man on the island who is fighting to keep his family land and he thinks she's there to try to take it from him. Things quickly spiral out of control from there and she finds herself involved in the middle of some shady business going down in her hometown. There are so many secrets , lies and danger ahead for her and several others. I loved watching her get her mojo back and help the people in her hometown. A really good story of suspense and smalltown drama with a little bit of a love story thrown in.
Thank you so much to @netgalley, @wandamowrites, Cindy from @thoughtsfromapage podcast for her early reads program and @williammorrrow for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. I cannot wait for the author chat for this one to learn more about the inspiration for this book!
A story of greed and mistreatment of those who are vulnerable. When you die without a will with right to survivorship established, things get complicated. Those who have less resources are the ones most likely to not have the knowledge needed in order to protect the asset they have that means the most, their house.
Deena Wood is trying to survive her hardships of losing her mom, marriage and job when she finds herself obsessed with a family who has disappeared little by little. All deaths appear connected to their family land and the people who want it.
This is an informative book that covers a lot of things that most people are not aware exist or chose to close their eyes about. I had a little bit of knowledge of the problems you encounter without a will. I didn’t know how one person with a small percentage of interest can control what happens without the knowledge of others. The book covers racism and poverty in what to me, sadly, seems a realistic way. It touches on grief, family, the Gullah-Geechee culture and life in general. Ms Morris does it in a way that drew me in and made me feel as if I were there and invested in these people lives.
There were a few decisions made by Deena that were eye rolling. She is a smart lawyer, and these decisions seemed like things she would advise a client not to make. The ending also was a little neat after the mess all through the book. But the choices advanced the story and the ending fit the rest of the book, so small things.
Overall, well worth the read.
This was Goodreads Giveaway of an Uncorrected Proof from William Morrow Books. Thanks to them both.
Deena Wood is trying to survive her hardships of losing her mom, marriage and job when she finds herself obsessed with a family who has disappeared little by little. All deaths appear connected to their family land and the people who want it.
This is an informative book that covers a lot of things that most people are not aware exist or chose to close their eyes about. I had a little bit of knowledge of the problems you encounter without a will. I didn’t know how one person with a small percentage of interest can control what happens without the knowledge of others. The book covers racism and poverty in what to me, sadly, seems a realistic way. It touches on grief, family, the Gullah-Geechee culture and life in general. Ms Morris does it in a way that drew me in and made me feel as if I were there and invested in these people lives.
There were a few decisions made by Deena that were eye rolling. She is a smart lawyer, and these decisions seemed like things she would advise a client not to make. The ending also was a little neat after the mess all through the book. But the choices advanced the story and the ending fit the rest of the book, so small things.
Overall, well worth the read.
This was Goodreads Giveaway of an Uncorrected Proof from William Morrow Books. Thanks to them both.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
“Gullah-Geechee. We were strong and resilient. Still are.”
As soon as I saw Geechee, I knew I had to read it. Growing up in the South Carolina Low Country, Gullah-Geechee is in my blood. It’s who I am. It’s in my DNA.
This book was messier than a hog pen after a hard rain and a king tide. And I loved every minute of it. There’s nothing like a little family drama mixed with mystery. This was my first book by Wanda Morris and I ate it up. I am adding more of her books to my reading list and letting everyone know that they need to read this book.
As soon as I saw Geechee, I knew I had to read it. Growing up in the South Carolina Low Country, Gullah-Geechee is in my blood. It’s who I am. It’s in my DNA.
This book was messier than a hog pen after a hard rain and a king tide. And I loved every minute of it. There’s nothing like a little family drama mixed with mystery. This was my first book by Wanda Morris and I ate it up. I am adding more of her books to my reading list and letting everyone know that they need to read this book.
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes