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rebeccareads31's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Josephine Leary was one hell of a woman. She is inspiring and her accomplishments are amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Rape
jashanac's review
slow-paced
3.0
Josephine Leary was a fascinating woman who bucked against the traditional expectations of women in her day. She made no secret of her ambitions to never be beholden to anyone ever again, after being born into slavery and being a slave until she was 9 years old.
I found this book to be enjoyable enough, though admittedly a fair amount of it was more slice-of-life than I guess I expected. Lots of details about mundane daily tasks or errands. There wasn't much Big Drama in her life as an adult, and of course that isn't necessary to have for a story to be an enjoyable story, but I think I for some reason was expecting a bigger splash, so that altered my reading experience a bit, for sure.
In my personal opinion, the book could have been shorter. I hate to say that the story of someone's life was "boring", and Josephine certainly did not have a boring life, but it was simply a bit drawn out in parts and for me it didn't benefit the story. It made it feel a bit too tedious for my taste, but if I had gone into it knowing it was going to be slower and more "slice of life" I may have felt differently!
I found this book to be enjoyable enough, though admittedly a fair amount of it was more slice-of-life than I guess I expected. Lots of details about mundane daily tasks or errands. There wasn't much Big Drama in her life as an adult, and of course that isn't necessary to have for a story to be an enjoyable story, but I think I for some reason was expecting a bigger splash, so that altered my reading experience a bit, for sure.
In my personal opinion, the book could have been shorter. I hate to say that the story of someone's life was "boring", and Josephine certainly did not have a boring life, but it was simply a bit drawn out in parts and for me it didn't benefit the story. It made it feel a bit too tedious for my taste, but if I had gone into it knowing it was going to be slower and more "slice of life" I may have felt differently!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Slavery
Minor: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse
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