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yarm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0
A sad story about enslaved people during the time of the American civil war. The story is mostly told from the first person view of Jemma, a young girl born into slavery. I found it hard to read about the torture and suffering that the slaves endured. I was shocked to read the first person perspective of Anne-May, the plantation mistress, her entitled views of her superiority over people of colour. Also sad to have the story based in the war where there was so much death and destruction. Such a tragic era, but maybe war was the only way sudden change to an abhorrent social structure could take place. I understand now why African Americans ask for reparations from wealthy white families who are rich only because of how their ancestors earns their money from slave labour. The first person perspective of Georgy, a wealthy young woman who dedicates her life to nursing this who are injured or sick, regardless of race or background. The author’s note was very interesting to read. She had based her book on historical account of the Wolsey family. It was pleasing to find out that Georgy was eventually able to realise her dream of setting up a nursing school for women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Slavery, Death, Racism, Violence, and War
ncamp214's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-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
4.0
You do not need to read the other two novels in order to understand and be enraptured by this novel. Historical fiction set during the Civil War is not usually my cup of tea, but the stories of Jema and Georgy quickly pulled me in. I wanted to know more about both of these head-strong and fearless women who lead entirely different lives until a random occurrence brought them together. I do wish the novel had touched slightly more on the politics of the era, but since it is based on the story of the actual Woosley family and their letters I understand why it didn't. I enjoyed getting a look into what a Southern plantation owner, particularly a women, would have been like at the time. Anne-May was a brutal version of a slave owner, and the more her story went the more I hoped she got what she deserved. I don't think she did in the end, as being alive is more than she deserved. I started this as an audiobook, and enjoyed the different narrators for the different characters. I ended up finishing with the physical book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, War, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Sexual harassment
emardesen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Hate crime, Death, War, Murder, Physical abuse, and Racism
bamababenv's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Death, Colonisation, and War
teyahdawn's review
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, and Death
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Rape
kimmyslostchill's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
It is hard to put into words how powerful this book was and how much it means to me. At times, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever read and yet still, it will go down in history as one of my all time favorite books.
The cruelty of humans is all too evident anytime one thinks of slavery, and this book does not shy away from horrible, ugly truths. At times it was so hard to read that I could physically feel the weight of it in my bones and would have to pull my eyes away from the book and take a moment to breath. However, looking back, that is not what I will remember about this book. I will remember Jemma and Georgy and how they never stopped fighting for what is right. Despite every cruel injustice and unfair circumstances and on and on and on, they fought. Even when they were tired or hurting, they never stopped thinking of what was important and what they knew they needed to do. I also deeply appreciated their friendship and how together they learned how to do even better then they already were, how to advocate for themselves better, how to tell the truth and how to grieve and how to be a friend. It was beautiful to watch them grow.
I also appreciated how well perspectives from all sides of the war. Not even just from the obvious narration standpoint but from the brothers and soldiers who crossed the paths of our three narrators. It really shines a light on how there were truly good and bad people on both sides and truly, when it comes down to it, what matters is how we treat people. Simply being an abolitionist isn’t enough to make you a good person if you don’t treat the person in front of you right, slave or free.
Truly, the only downside is the label of historical fiction. I simply wish I could know every detail of what was real and what was fiction. I of course read the Author’s Note and appreciated the attempts at clarifying that for me. However, I am so engaged that I will definitely be looking up the resources listed there to learn even more for myself.
If it was up to me, Sunflower Sisters would be required reading for all. I loved this book so much and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.
The cruelty of humans is all too evident anytime one thinks of slavery, and this book does not shy away from horrible, ugly truths. At times it was so hard to read that I could physically feel the weight of it in my bones and would have to pull my eyes away from the book and take a moment to breath. However, looking back, that is not what I will remember about this book. I will remember Jemma and Georgy and how they never stopped fighting for what is right. Despite every cruel injustice and unfair circumstances and on and on and on, they fought. Even when they were tired or hurting, they never stopped thinking of what was important and what they knew they needed to do. I also deeply appreciated their friendship and how together they learned how to do even better then they already were, how to advocate for themselves better, how to tell the truth and how to grieve and how to be a friend. It was beautiful to watch them grow.
I also appreciated how well perspectives from all sides of the war. Not even just from the obvious narration standpoint but from the brothers and soldiers who crossed the paths of our three narrators. It really shines a light on how there were truly good and bad people on both sides and truly, when it comes down to it, what matters is how we treat people. Simply being an abolitionist isn’t enough to make you a good person if you don’t treat the person in front of you right, slave or free.
Truly, the only downside is the label of historical fiction. I simply wish I could know every detail of what was real and what was fiction. I of course read the Author’s Note and appreciated the attempts at clarifying that for me. However, I am so engaged that I will definitely be looking up the resources listed there to learn even more for myself.
If it was up to me, Sunflower Sisters would be required reading for all. I loved this book so much and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Blood
emileereadsbooks's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
Thank you PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook! And Netgalley and Random House Ballantine Books for a digital copy.
I have long awaited this book. In 2019 I got to see Martha Hall Kelly at a book talk/signing for Lost Roses at Interabang Books (Dallas, TX). At that book signing, Kelly talked about the next book she was working on and I was THRILLED it was a Civil War novel continuing the story of the Woolsey women. I am a lover of Civil War stories, but don't always find them to handle all aspects of that time period well. I read many books from this time period growing up that romanticized slavery and plantation life and want to make sure I am reading books now that show a better picture of what life was really like for those enslaved.
This book ticks every box of what I wanted it to be in more. Told through the stories of 3 women, Georgeanna Woolsey, a wealthy socialite who becomes a Union nurse; Jemma, a young enslaved girl who gets pulled into a new life, and Anne-May Wilson, a spoiled Southern plantation mistress who is out for her own interests. Each character is nuanced and layered and you are rooting for them to make good choices. This book has war, family drama, romance, women bettering themselves, and new layers constantly being unfolded.
Even if you haven't read Lilac Girls or Lost Roses (which I do recommend them both!), you can still read and fully enjoy this book. Plus I do recommend the audiobook version. These narrators are some of my favorite narrators period and they do a phenomenal job bringing these characters off the page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Violence and Medical content
thebakerbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
Having read both Lilac Girls and Lost Roses, and having had the chance to visit the Ferriday-Bellamy House in Connecticut, I was excited to read the next installment in this family’s history. However, though I did like this story overall, it’s my least favorite of the three. It took me almost a month to read this book because I found the beginning chapters boring and the story didn’t really pick up for me until over halfway through the book. There were too many time jumps and a lot of characters—I had trouble remembering who was who. The book is told from three perspectives, and for most of it, it felt like we were just getting snippets of those characters’ lives rather than the full story.
I enjoyed Jemma’s chapters the most. Georgy was hard to connect to and I didn’t understand her relationship with Frank at all—she would hate him in one chapter and love him in the next and I found it just annoying. Anne-May was a terrible person but I found a lot of her actions to be nonsensical. Even in the pursuit of her own selfish goals, they just didn’t make sense to me.
I will say you can tell this book was heavily researched and I appreciated the little touches of setting and historical events that impacted our characters’ lives. I enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end—it definitely adds more to the story.
I am sad to have the Ferriday family story come to a slightly disappointing end to me. I think I still liked this book and will probably buy it to complete my Lilac Girls series. But I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC.
I enjoyed Jemma’s chapters the most. Georgy was hard to connect to and I didn’t understand her relationship with Frank at all—she would hate him in one chapter and love him in the next and I found it just annoying. Anne-May was a terrible person but I found a lot of her actions to be nonsensical. Even in the pursuit of her own selfish goals, they just didn’t make sense to me.
I will say you can tell this book was heavily researched and I appreciated the little touches of setting and historical events that impacted our characters’ lives. I enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end—it definitely adds more to the story.
I am sad to have the Ferriday family story come to a slightly disappointing end to me. I think I still liked this book and will probably buy it to complete my Lilac Girls series. But I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, and Sexism
teacupsandfirereads's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-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
3.5
This book is publishing in just under two months and it already has so many wonderful reviews and so many people are looking forward to reading it. I knew that this book was related to Lilac Girls and Lost Roses, but I didn't know it was considered part of the series when I started.
Maybe that helped me enjoy it a bit more. I enjoyed the other two, but I think I liked this one more. It definitely can stand on its own. Something about this story just settled in with me more than the previous. Kelly's writing and research truly show through in this one. The writing is rich and tangible and full of lovely detail. Though fictional liberties were taken, I believe it still stuck to the real facts. The characters were well developed and lovely to get to know.
This story did take me a bit to get into, but once I was in, there was no looking back. I felt like there were a lot of characters and felt lost at times trying to place them as it switched back and forth between POVs. It felt a bit diluted, as though there were many story lines where the central one sometimes got lost.
It was really great to see in depth thoughts and perspectives of the on goings of the Civil War from distinctly different sides. Each main character truly had a story to tell and belonged within the pages. I enjoy that in this one, character lines come together sooner rather than later, because it felt as though you are reading one complete story over fragments of story that loosely intertwine.
Any historical fiction lover will enjoy this one, but especially those who loved Lilac Girls and Lost Roses.
Thank you to the publisher through NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe that helped me enjoy it a bit more. I enjoyed the other two, but I think I liked this one more. It definitely can stand on its own. Something about this story just settled in with me more than the previous. Kelly's writing and research truly show through in this one. The writing is rich and tangible and full of lovely detail. Though fictional liberties were taken, I believe it still stuck to the real facts. The characters were well developed and lovely to get to know.
This story did take me a bit to get into, but once I was in, there was no looking back. I felt like there were a lot of characters and felt lost at times trying to place them as it switched back and forth between POVs. It felt a bit diluted, as though there were many story lines where the central one sometimes got lost.
It was really great to see in depth thoughts and perspectives of the on goings of the Civil War from distinctly different sides. Each main character truly had a story to tell and belonged within the pages. I enjoy that in this one, character lines come together sooner rather than later, because it felt as though you are reading one complete story over fragments of story that loosely intertwine.
Any historical fiction lover will enjoy this one, but especially those who loved Lilac Girls and Lost Roses.
Thank you to the publisher through NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Slavery
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