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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
I found this rather boring and tedious. Maybe the strong synopsis was so dang good that I kept anticipating more during the course of listening to the audiobook.
Y'all this book was so beautifully complex. As far as Historical Fiction inspired by true events go, it's one of my new favorites. It's neither sappy (like many are) nor dull (as all the rest seem to be).
Without becoming pedantic or moralistic, Natasha Boyd managed to explore white supremacy, the patriarchy, women's rights, and the interconnectedness and complexity of it all. At no point does she try to reduce complicated issues to simple black and white (no pun intended) and yet it's very clear that she does not support the oppression of any human.
We will be using this as part of our Freshman homeschool curriculum. I've taken many notes for history and botany studies, in addition to logic and critical thinking conversations and essay prompts. I'm excited to study this book with my teen.
Trigger Warning-
There is slavery in this book, and with it comes violence.
There are also many moments of abuse hurled toward the protagonist, Eliza.
Be careful with your mental health.
Without becoming pedantic or moralistic, Natasha Boyd managed to explore white supremacy, the patriarchy, women's rights, and the interconnectedness and complexity of it all. At no point does she try to reduce complicated issues to simple black and white (no pun intended) and yet it's very clear that she does not support the oppression of any human.
We will be using this as part of our Freshman homeschool curriculum. I've taken many notes for history and botany studies, in addition to logic and critical thinking conversations and essay prompts. I'm excited to study this book with my teen.
Trigger Warning-
There is slavery in this book, and with it comes violence.
There are also many moments of abuse hurled toward the protagonist, Eliza.
Be careful with your mental health.
This is a tough one to attach stars to - the narration was done really well, but the story just wasn't great. It is based on the life of Eliza Lucas Pinckney. When her father decides to return to Antigua, he leaves Eliza in charge of his three plantations. In order to make ends meet, she turns to the production of indigo dye.
First, I find it unrealistic that, in the 18th century, a 16-year-old girl is left alone to run three plantations in the American South. I felt like the involvement of the overseers was purposely minimized to make Eliza more of a heroine/strong female character. In addition, the way that she is portrayed, as a savior and friend to her slaves is also a hard pill to swallow. Follow this with the implied infatuation between a white slave owner and a slave simply adds to the rose-colored feel of this novel. The book does hold the reader's interest and the narration was quite good, so I am giving the book 3 stars. Based on content alone, it would be 2 stars.
First, I find it unrealistic that, in the 18th century, a 16-year-old girl is left alone to run three plantations in the American South. I felt like the involvement of the overseers was purposely minimized to make Eliza more of a heroine/strong female character. In addition, the way that she is portrayed, as a savior and friend to her slaves is also a hard pill to swallow. Follow this with the implied infatuation between a white slave owner and a slave simply adds to the rose-colored feel of this novel. The book does hold the reader's interest and the narration was quite good, so I am giving the book 3 stars. Based on content alone, it would be 2 stars.
I was intrigued by this book because of a headstrong female doing something extraordinary with something I knew little about (indigo). I wasn’t impressed with the writing and often thought I missed something as I listened. I ended up switching between listening and reading and nearly abandoned the book, but I couldn’t wait to learn more about this amazing woman. The fact that it was based on a true story kept me going, but I was disappointed that the story got very bogged down in random details, the main character was overly dramatic (and I’m sure the audiobook’s portrayer didn’t help in this regard), and it didn’t tell much about the big picture that was described in the book details (like about how she ended up having George Washington be a pallbearer at her funeral or even how she ended up creating the indigo empire). It was a love story (x2) that wasn’t, and the epilogue at least gave me the details I was craving. I was eager to read/listen more but I felt disappointed at the disjointed nature of the book and lack of character development. What will stay with me is basically what I learned in the epilogue and what I got from the book details. The letters throughout helped since it reminded me that it was a 16 year old girl who WAS dramatic. Most of the story seemed very far fetched, so it was helpful to know it was based on fact. Not a waste of time, but definitely not one I’d eagerly recommend.
I have been wanting a historical fiction book to grab me and keep me enthralled and this book did exactly that! The “indigo girl” is a fiercely independent woman whose ambitions and contributions have rarely been acknowledged, and I’m so glad this book brought her story to light.
This book dominated my last two days. Eliza, left in charge of her father's multiple plantations treated their slaves with more respect than they were used to. Teaching them to read in exchange for learning from their indigo dye skills. When young women were expected to be seen and not heard, to be wives and mothers, she broke down walls and established a trade that saved her portion of the country in the 1700s. Historial fiction at it's best.
I love historical fiction based on true events. I love to research the truth of the story once I have finished the book. I did not research on this one, partly because the author sums it up well in the notes at the end, and partly because I was no longer interested. I loved the story, but I felt the story was not really told. A lot of history surrounding the story was given. It touched into the beginning of the story right before the end. What happened to the story of how she became the Indigo Girl? I do not care to hear so much about her mother and father. The beginning spent way too much time on the father and briefly hit on the important things. The point was made very early that her mother hated it there and wanted her to become a married lady. I wanted to know how she got to her success, but the story ended at her failure and summarized the rest. One could take from this that she was only a success due to her marriage, but everything describing her real life indicates this is not true. So, why not tell us that story? I did not dislike the book, but I cannot say it was a success.
I really loved this book. The writing style had me scoff and roll my eyes more than I'd like, so only 4 stars. But I literally knew nothing about this, so I found it fascinating!
While there are one or two small attempts to demonstrate the priority of wealth and ambition above the freedom of slaves among other characters, including her father, this is very much brushed over generally. Treating slaves kindly does not negate that they were treated as slaves. While I agree it best that history maintain a record of her efforts and successes, I'd be interested in reading this story from the perspective of a black author or the folks she appropriated the knowledge of indigo from.