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helenehannailona'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? No
5.0
<Spoiler>And the way you see Eleanor‘s and Ruby‘s story slowly interlacing… the ending, when they finally meet, didn’t leave me, even after I closed the book. Do they know how they are connected? Will they know?
Graphic: Pregnancy and Racism
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Infertility
amcghig's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Infertility, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Confinement, Miscarriage, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
dr_readmore_17'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
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Miscarriage, and Racism
Moderate: Abortion, Forced institutionalization, and Racial slurs
Minor: Suicide
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
bookishbilingual's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Racism, and Sexual assault
smkelly1997'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Classism, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, and Infertility
gelslitreviews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexual assault
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
torlee'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
3.75
Minor: Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Pregnancy, Racism, and Infertility
kelly_e'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? It's complicated
5.0
Author: Sadeqa Johnson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: February 7, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Redemptive • Haunting • Luminous
📖 S Y N O P S I S
1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.
Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.
With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.
💭 T H O U G H T S
As a lover of historical fiction, it will come as no surprise that The House of Eve was one of my most anticipated 2023 winter releases, so when it was chosen as an Aardvark selection for February, it was an easy choice. I went in without having read the synopsis, and I was blown away by this novel.
The writing provides everything the reader needs to know without being excessively detailed, making this novel highly readable. I honestly could not put it down! Sadeqa Johnson managed to bring the story to life through her memorable characters, and by hooking my attention from the very first page, straight through to the satisfying end. She explores many themes - womanhood and women's rights, motherhood and ambition, poverty and classism, race and colourism, as well as a snippet of wealthy Black history. And she does all of it with great knowledge and care.
Historical fiction is genre I typically gravitate towards because learning about new aspects of the past while reading is something I absolutely love. And this book certainly opened my eyes (and my mind) to an area of Black history I have very seldom encountered in my reading life. Even though it is a more of fiction, it's very important to read the author's note at the end. Sadeqa details her family history and the authenticity of the content.
I must say The House of Eve was the historical fiction novel I needed to get out of a streak of mediocre reads. Ruby and Eleanor, combined with the exploration of the price women pay for love, completely enraptured me, and I know this story will stay with me for a long time. It was a book that reminded me why I love reading so much - to find stories that need telling, to learn and have my perspectives broadened. I've definitely moved Yellow Wife up my priority list, and am already anticipating whatever Sadeqa publishes next.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of dual timeline/dual perspective
• readers looking for women's right historical fiction
• bookclubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Knowing about racism and being abused by its wrath were two different things."
"And this trip downtown had shown me that we even had to fight for what should have been free: our dignity."
Graphic: Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Infertility, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Medical content
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Alcoholism, Classism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abortion, Rape, and Emotional abuse
colourism, adoption, poverty