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jazful's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Classism, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Colonisation, Drug use, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Blood, Bullying, and Colonisation
katietotallybooked'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
“I wrote this book for women like Georgia Mae, my grandmother Yvonne Clair, my great-grandmother Addie Murray and every woman who was forced to surrender her child either because of race, age, sexual abuse, shame or coer-cion. You are not alone. The House of Eve is for you.”
I picked this book up because it was an in person book club pick. I knew little about it going in, and honestly I did not expect to love it so much!
Positives:
- Engaging writing
- Dual perspective, with dual audio narration!
- Based on experiences from real women
- An emotional read with some gut wrenching parts
- I was hooked early on and I wanted to keep turning the pages to see how it would all turn out for Ruby and Eleanor
- that it took until the ending to make it a five star read (but at least it got there!) The author's note and the epilogue actually sealed the deal for me.
Topics/Themes:
- Motherhood
- Black History
- Pregnancy
- Racism
- Classism
I'd Recommend To:
- Book Clubs
- Historical fiction readers, especially those interest in Black and/or women's history
- Audiobook listeners (the narration is fantastic!)
"I hope the man she [Georgia Mae] worked for wouldn't touch her again, but I also knew that hope had never gotten any of us very far. " p.324
Graphic: Classism, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, and Miscarriage
Minor: Body shaming
kerrygetsliterary'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
5.0
Ms. Johnson, excuse me, I think you dropped this ... 👑
I absolutely loved Yellow Wife and The House of Eve was no different. Sadeqa Johnson is 💯 an auto-buy author for me!
In the 1950s, we meet two main characters. Ruby, a 15-year-old in Philadelphia, striving for a full-ride scholarship to college and the first in her family to attend, and Eleanor in DC, who marries into an elite wealthy Black family who doesn't let just anyone in. Eventually, these two characters' stories come together in an unexpected way.
I loved both POVs and could not stop reading! If I had to take a break, I was thinking about when I could get back to reading it again. There are so many layers to these stories, these characters. You know when you receive a gift, and it's wrapped so nicely, and you open it, and it's another box to unwrap, and inside that box is another box, and another box, until you get to the final box with the gift? Reading The House of Eve is like that, except each unwrapping is another gift itself.
(Also, hi, it's me, I wrap gifts like that sometimes to trick the recipient 😂)
The characters were complete, whole characters with flaws. Many harboring secrets, many with unresolved trauma, and all fighting a battle of their own. The writing was excellent, raw, and beautiful. This book is unafraid to explore heavy, taboo topics and dark pasts that we choose to ignore.
This book will stay with me. I will be thinking about it for a long time.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
⚠️CWs: sexual assault of a child, classism, racism, alcoholism, infertility & miscarriage, pregnancy. Check StoryGraph for others mentioned.
Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexism, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Body shaming, and Infertility
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Abortion, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Pedophilia and Rape
noble_editorial'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
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Moderate: Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Classism, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping