Scan barcode
pantsreads's review against another edition
4.0
Truly powerful book that made me physically uncomfortable more than a few times—but I appreciate that about it. Slavery isn't a topic that should be taken lightly.
Full review to come, but you can check out a mini-review on the Forever Young Adult Instagram.
Full review to come, but you can check out a mini-review on the Forever Young Adult Instagram.
toastedrye_bread's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve held this book in my hands more times than I could count on my hands as I shelved through the YA books of my library. Each time, I was captivated and I found myself utterly drawn to its cover and to its description. However, for one reason or another, I always found a reason to put it back until recently. Rita williams-Garcia has truly carved out and written a book so richly filled with history. From the lives of the white, plantation owning Guilbert’s, to the lives of characters such as Thisbe, Jane, Pearce, Miss Lily, Camille, and so many more, this story filled me with so many thoughts and feelings to reflect upon. It’s hard to say that I have one favorite book, but this book would be very high on that list. If you need a reason to read this book, read it.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me a week to read because it was so real. Williams-Garcia dove deep into the history of Le Petit Cottage and all that are bound to the plantation. The summary says “tour de force” because this book is epic. It is tome that you must be ready to tackle because nothing is held back. Also, make sure to stay for all of the back matter. (P.S. This book is considered YA; however, it is definitely OLDER YA and adult, so keep that in mind when curating for students.)
shinesalot's review against another edition
5.0
An excellently crafted story of the scarifies people had to make at the turn of the century. From the perspective of a Louisiana plantation family, readers are thrust into the brutal mistreatment of slaves and how queer people at that time had to suppress who they were.
Absolutely fascinating characters. Couldn’t put it down.
Absolutely fascinating characters. Couldn’t put it down.
neglet's review against another edition
5.0
Complex, layered story of a plantation family in Antebellum Louisiana. Demonstrates the absurd social rules and human tragedy of slavery (and America’s enduring racism) through the stories of several young people: the planter’s son and heir, forced to hide his male lover while paying court to a rich neighbor; the planter’s Black daughter, born of rape and scorned by her grandmother yet perhaps the key to saving the family fortune; and the enslaved girl who serves the grandmother with little respite until a painter arrives to upend everything in the house.
If anyone ever tells you YA isn’t “real” literature, hand them this book and shut them up.
If anyone ever tells you YA isn’t “real” literature, hand them this book and shut them up.
cwalsh's review against another edition
3.0
A beautiful work of historical fiction, but possibly a bit too long and dense for a YA audience. In all honesty, the author's note struck me as the most poignant part of this novel and deserves to be published on its own.
librariandest's review against another edition
4.0
RWG has succeeded in writing a haunting, powerful book about racism, and to get there she had to pull out all the stops. This book hits harder than any other book I've read that's marketed as YA.
The slow start and the detailed descriptions of sexual violence in this book made me feel like it's almost not YA. I can see it being assigned in an 11th or 12th grade AP lit class maybe. But there were multiple scenes that made me so sad and disgusted I have a hard time seeing myself recommend this book to most teens.
Would I recommend it to adults? Yes -- if you want to explore the vile beliefs and actions of white plantation owners. Just by coincidence, I was reading this when the third season of Succession came out on HBO. I couldn't help see similarities between the Roy family and the Guilbert family. So despicable.
When I was in the middle of the book I stopped to ponder if RWG had pulled a Hamilton (i.e. used her genius to tell yet another story about American history centering white people). But she wrote a very illuminating author's note explaining why this story revolves around the Guilbert family and not the Black characters. She cites Toni Morrison as inspiration: "What are you without racism? ...if you can only be tall because somebody is on their knees, then you have a serious problem. And my feeling is that white people have a very, very serious problem and they should start thinking about what they can do about it. Take me out of it."
RWG also includes gay and gender-nonconforming (and also maybe autistic) teen characters in her story. I think this will add appeal for a teen audience because there aren't very many excellent historical YA novels featuring LGBTQ characters.
The slow start and the detailed descriptions of sexual violence in this book made me feel like it's almost not YA. I can see it being assigned in an 11th or 12th grade AP lit class maybe. But there were multiple scenes that made me so sad and disgusted I have a hard time seeing myself recommend this book to most teens.
Would I recommend it to adults? Yes -- if you want to explore the vile beliefs and actions of white plantation owners. Just by coincidence, I was reading this when the third season of Succession came out on HBO. I couldn't help see similarities between the Roy family and the Guilbert family. So despicable.
When I was in the middle of the book I stopped to ponder if RWG had pulled a Hamilton (i.e. used her genius to tell yet another story about American history centering white people). But she wrote a very illuminating author's note explaining why this story revolves around the Guilbert family and not the Black characters. She cites Toni Morrison as inspiration: "What are you without racism? ...if you can only be tall because somebody is on their knees, then you have a serious problem. And my feeling is that white people have a very, very serious problem and they should start thinking about what they can do about it. Take me out of it."
RWG also includes gay and gender-nonconforming (and also maybe autistic) teen characters in her story. I think this will add appeal for a teen audience because there aren't very many excellent historical YA novels featuring LGBTQ characters.
dswhite's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book but did not find it "special". I also did not find it that graphic. There were a few scenes but it was not throughout the book.