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readtomea97's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
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
kelly_e's review against another edition
- 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
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."
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,drnaynay's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Torture, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Racism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Vomit
melissa_h's review against another edition
- 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
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
zviews11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Child death, Excrement, Slavery, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Grief, Confinement, and Classism
sleeson's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Sadeqa Johnson's characterization for the role of each person is gracefully and carefully thought out. Her story will have you latching on to each moment Pheby's journey.
Our hero Pheby is unquestionably the strongest figure in the novel. The sacrifices she makes for everyone she meets, is due to her unconditional love for others. Strong language and Graphic sexual content alluded.
Graphic: Abortion, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Excrement, Grief, Sexual assault, Vomit, Child death, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Classism, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Rape
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Trafficking, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Confinement, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Excrement, Infidelity, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
bandysbooks's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
This book is a masterwork in historical fiction. It is inspired by a true story, but is a fictionalized account. Johnson does such a phenomenal job of making her characters real and creating a story that will haunt readers well after they put the book down. Some of that is due to the horrific scenes she creates to instill in the reader the unflinching truth about the inhumanity of slavery and some of that is due to the main character, Pheby, who makes impossible choice after impossible choice.
One thing in particular that takes a lot of skill in writing about brutality like slavery is finding the balance between creating horrific scenes that show the experiences of the victims and not making it so brutal that your readers stop reading. While this story definitely has some extraordinarily difficult scenes and Johnson is very detailed in her writing, I did feel that the brutal scenes she wrote about had a specific purpose both within the story and in the larger picture of remembering the atrocity that was slavery. It was brutal, but not gratuitous.
And I found myself so relentlessly rooting for Pheby. Every time you wonder how she could ever possibly keep going, she finds ways to endure. She is such a tough, strong, and eventually selfless character who struggles with the morality of what she has to do daily to survive. In the bleakest parts of this book, I kept reading because I just had to know what happened to Pheby in the end.
All in all, this is a well-written historical fiction about some of the unknown bits of slavery. It's about how women specifically were victimized and the ways that they overcame and continued to survive. I would definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings on this book before reading, but I unequivocally would recommend reading this too.
Trigger Warnings: Rape, Sexual Assault, Forced Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Torture, Whipping, Mutilation, Starvation, Sexual Slavery, Sex Trafficking, Severe Injury, Illness, Death, Infanticide, Slavery, Public Humiliation
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Sexual assault, Classism, Confinement, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Gore, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking
bookxcupid6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Torture, Slavery, Death, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Violence, Racism, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Classism