Reviews tagging 'Classism'

A Casa de Eva by Sadeqa Johnson

43 reviews

_theliteraturevillian_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

It is very clear that Mrs.Johnson does VERY THROUGH research when writing historical fiction and are we not truly thankful for that? 

Again, I am stunned. ‘Yellow Wife’ made me a fan but ‘The House of Eve’ has made me a Stan 😩. This story was beautiful, but heartbreaking. I felt for Eleanor but Ruby, I wanted to embrace her in a way her mother couldn’t. 

This has been my best read so far this year. Can’t wait for what Mrs.Johnson has in store for us next…

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bek67's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.25

Second book of Sadeqa Johnson's I've read and it does not disappoint. I loved both main characters Ruby, a teenager who is smart and hopes to attend college, and Eleanor, a college student whose parents sacrificed a lot to get her there. My favorite quote from the book: "Knowing about racism and being abused by its wrath were two different things."

I also loved the fact there is a very small (but not insignificant) tie-in to characters from her book Yellow Wife. 

The author's note at the end is definitely worth the read. She describes where the fictional characters of the book came from as well as background on the real life characters. Fascinating info. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katietotallybooked's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

From the Author’s Note:
“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

Negatives:
  • 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!)

Quotes:
"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



Expand filter menu Content Warnings

smkelly1997's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

I was continuously drawn in throughout this book. It was hard to but down, heartbreaking, and yet an amazing read. I loved the intertwining and parallels between Ruby and Eleanor. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

erickaonpaper's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective 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

4.25

a near perfect historical fiction. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

eleasereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

fairytalefootnotes's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

✨️ The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson ✨️

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ooohgoshtara's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? No

5.0

A historical fiction set in 1950's Philadelphia and Washington DC. The story follows fifteen year old Ruby and college aged woman Eleanor both black women from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The decisions both women make lead their lives to intersect in an unexpected way. The novel is told from alternating points of view of Ruby and Eleanor. We learn about their lives and backgrounds and the challenges they face as black women in 1950's America. Themes of motherhood, intergenerational issues, racism, colorism, infertility, classism, and love. I felt for both Ruby and Eleanor. I enjoyed the way this story was written. It was heartfelt and gut wrenching. Sadeqa Johnson does an amazing job of immersing us in her novels. I would highly recommend. I thoroughly enjoyed the authors note of how this novel came to be.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

catalie07's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful sad 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? No

5.0

An excellent read!! I love the author’s writing style. Two stories following two women with completely different upbringings and experiences, face a similar life event that eventually connects them beautifully. Based in the 1950s. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings