challenging emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

You can't help but love an annoying, yet charmingly inquisitive person. They really provide a hopeful and positive atmosphere to enjoy. Kathleen Grissom brings her wonderful voice and style to this sequel of The Kitchen House, which is what I was hoping for after I read The Kitchen House. 

The book joins us as we meet James, the young boy involved the dramatic and violent ending of the kitchen house. He has fled to the north, where he runs into a runaway slave. Although James himself is freed and has lived the life of a white boy, he finds himself in a position to have that all ripped away. Desperate to keep his secret hidden, the slave helps him find a new life safe from his past. However, the past eventually comes calling, and James is flung into his dark past as the slave calls in a favor from him. The ensuing journey is thrilling and dangerous and full of emotion. 

I love the moral issues this book raises around slavery and the perspectives of everyone involved, from white slave owners, white non-slave owners, mulatto foreman, mulatto free men, slaves, runaways, and freed people of color. In addition, I love the moral issues of humanity and what it means to stay to help another human at personal risk to oneself. The plot rolls in this story, and there is plenty of adventure and danger to bring the thrills. 

If I could change one thing about Grissom's stories, it would be to have her stay with characters longer. Throughout her story, we encounter and leave characters so quickly that it is sometimes hard to emotionally reconcile the parting as a reader. 

This book is for fans of historical fiction, slave fiction, drama, and realistic fiction. It is also for readers who like to feel empathy, thrills, heartfelt moments, and triumph. It is a fast-paced read with the perfect amount of adventure and danger. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings