Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

25 reviews

readtomea97's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was beautiful written, and gives a very unique insight into the lives of slave women, specifically mulatto/white passing women. This story is based on the life of slave concubine Mary Lumpkin, the bully trader (a.k.a. Master Robert Lumpkin), the Devil’s Acre plantation, Anthony Burns, and the experiences they had during slavery and her survival story. Look up Virginia Union University. I appreciate this perspective on her history however I will warn future readers interested this is a VERY heavy read. Be prepared for heartbreak, anger, and grief throughout this story. I can’t count how many times I wanted to put this down because black trauma continues to be too much to experience over and over again, but this was so beautifully written, I had to know how it ends. I respect Pheby’s journey because it wouldn’t have been an easy one for anyone by any means. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Murder, Miscarriage, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Death, Bullying, Classism, Rape, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Slavery, and Adult/minor relationship

mjlease08's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Murder, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Rape, Slavery, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

mavemarie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

An extreamly fast paced narrative that rarely pauses to let you catch your breath, but as long as there is breath, there is hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Body horror, Infertility, Sexism, Excrement, Grief, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Physical abuse, and Torture

kelly_e's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Title: Yellow Wife
Author: Sadeqa Johnson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: January 12, 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Harrowing • Graphic • Impactful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world.

She’d been promised freedom on her eighteenth birthday, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known. She unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, Virginia, where the enslaved are broken, tortured, and sold every day. There, Pheby is exposed not just to her Jailer’s cruelty but also to his contradictions. To survive, Pheby will have to outwit him, and she soon faces the ultimate sacrifice.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I quickly moved this to the top of my TBR after reading The House of Eve in 2023. Much has already been said (all well deserved) about Yellow Wife, so I don't know that there is much that I can add that hasn't already been said. Inspired by the story of Mary Lumpkin and the Lumpkin's jail in Richmond, Virgina, Sadeqa Johnson has delivered one for the ages.

What a roller coaster of emotions! A story of survival, this narrative delves deeply into the sickening realities of the slavery experience in the 1850s. More specifically, it examines the biracial experience. I was angry. I was heartbroken. I was unsettled. I was ashamed. Yet, there is also a thread of hope.

Pheby is one of those characters I will never forget. She is so fierce and loyal. It is through her sacrifice that the reader is privy to the depths of a mother's love. Despite being enslaved, the characters demonstrate unconditional love, how they bond together in community, and how they create moments of joy with their families.

The writing is absolutely phenomenal even if there was room for more character development. It sure packs a lot into its 275 pages. It's evident Johnson has done her research and proceeds to pay homage in a realistic and compassionate manner.

Yellow Wife is one of the best historical fiction novels I have ever read and it is a story I won't soon forget. It's a book that deserves a place in classrooms across North America. It is deeply unsettling, yet a realistic depiction of the times. Do yourself a favour and read this book!

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• historical fiction
• stories inspired by real people and events
• learning

⚠️ CW: slavery, racism, racial slurs, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, hate crime, violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, domestic abuse, child abuse, murder, death, child death, death of parent, grief, confinement, torture, blood, injury/injury detail, excrement, vomit, misogyny, trafficking, pregnancy, miscarriage, sexual content, classism, colorism, kidnapping

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"To survive this, I could not let my mind succumb to the misery that threatened to strangle me."

"You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you didn’t know." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Classism, Death, Trafficking, Racism, Slavery, Vomit, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Rape, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Medical content

colorism, drowning,

catwomano's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Excrement, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Torture

bambicat234's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Excrement, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Blood, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Pregnancy, Torture, and Trafficking

txsweetheart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Death, Sexual content, Racism, Slavery, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Murder, and Miscarriage

melissa_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A realistic historical story about slavery. Dark,  difficult. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, Slavery, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Murder, Trafficking, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Classism, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, and Child death

kendramekalle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Murder, Child abuse, Slavery, Sexual assault, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Death, and Rape

butle2em's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is a graphic depiction for what life was like for enslaved people. It took me a long time to read through it because I needed time to process the torture depicted between the pages. While this book is uncomfortable and horrifying, I think it is important that white people read responsibly written slave narratives (eg researched, historically factual, written by Black authors) in order to consider the world we inherited and our responsibility in changing that world for the better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Physical abuse, Gore, Violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Vomit