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pam2375's review against another edition
3.0
This is the story of a young English Quaker Woman's journey to America during the time period that Southern Slaves were running away and people were trying to help them.
Here is what I really enjoyed about liked about this book; Honor (our young Quaker) sends detailed letters of what life is like in America. There was so much depth and detail in those writings and I will tell you that those letters kept me going.
Here is what I didn't care for about this book; it is advertised as being a book about the underground railroad and, unfortunately, that simply is not true. I feel a bit duped by the synopsis. I also felt that Honor would not have done many of the things that she did based on what we know about her. Some of Honor's action just did not seem to fit the time period or her background.
Many thanks to net galley and Dutton Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.
Here is what I really enjoyed about liked about this book; Honor (our young Quaker) sends detailed letters of what life is like in America. There was so much depth and detail in those writings and I will tell you that those letters kept me going.
Here is what I didn't care for about this book; it is advertised as being a book about the underground railroad and, unfortunately, that simply is not true. I feel a bit duped by the synopsis. I also felt that Honor would not have done many of the things that she did based on what we know about her. Some of Honor's action just did not seem to fit the time period or her background.
Many thanks to net galley and Dutton Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.
book_concierge's review against another edition
2.0
Audiobook performed by Kate Reading
2.5**
In 1850, Honor Bright accompanies her sister to America. Grace is betrothed to a Quaker merchant who has set up shop with his brother in Ohio. Honor is fleeing a failed romance, hoping for a new start. But the “frontier” of Ohio is very different from the long-established English community Honor left, and she feels adrift and unwelcomed, though she has little choice but to rely on these virtual strangers to help her.
I’ve been a fan of Chevalier’s for a long time. I like the way she puts the reader into the time and place of her historical novels, and this is no exception. I felt I was discovering the joys of sweet corn, the marvel of lightning bugs, and the trill of song birds right along with Honor. I was interested in the realities of life in such communities at this time in America’s history, and liked the references to the Underground Railroad and the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways in which “Friends” helped the runaways.
But I didn’t really believe in Honor. She seemed way too naïve and trusting, and the whole “on and off” attraction to “bad boy” Donovan seemed way out of character for her. And then there’s the ending … it seemed to me that Chevalier got herself into a corner and didn’t know how to get out, so she used the most convenient way to end things. It was so dissatisfying, to me, that I dropped half a star.
Kate Reading does a fine job performing the audio version, although she never succeeded in giving Honor (or any of the other new arrivals from England) a British accent (something which is commented upon several times).
2.5**
In 1850, Honor Bright accompanies her sister to America. Grace is betrothed to a Quaker merchant who has set up shop with his brother in Ohio. Honor is fleeing a failed romance, hoping for a new start. But the “frontier” of Ohio is very different from the long-established English community Honor left, and she feels adrift and unwelcomed, though she has little choice but to rely on these virtual strangers to help her.
I’ve been a fan of Chevalier’s for a long time. I like the way she puts the reader into the time and place of her historical novels, and this is no exception. I felt I was discovering the joys of sweet corn, the marvel of lightning bugs, and the trill of song birds right along with Honor. I was interested in the realities of life in such communities at this time in America’s history, and liked the references to the Underground Railroad and the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways in which “Friends” helped the runaways.
But I didn’t really believe in Honor. She seemed way too naïve and trusting, and the whole “on and off” attraction to “bad boy” Donovan seemed way out of character for her. And then there’s the ending … it seemed to me that Chevalier got herself into a corner and didn’t know how to get out, so she used the most convenient way to end things. It was so dissatisfying, to me, that I dropped half a star.
Kate Reading does a fine job performing the audio version, although she never succeeded in giving Honor (or any of the other new arrivals from England) a British accent (something which is commented upon several times).
joy323's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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? No
3.0
myriadreads's review against another edition
5.0
The Last Runaway takes the reader to 1850's Ohio with Honor Bright, an Englishwoman who has fled her homeland after being jilted at the alter. Honor is a Quaker, and a talented seamstress and quilter. Ohio is not a slave state, and many free blacks make their homes there, but the Fugitive Slave Law punishes those who help runaway slaves as they flee to freedom. Honor faces a wrenching conflict: loyalty to her new husband and family for the sake of peace at home, or loyalty to her principles for the sake of peace within herself.
The Last Runaway utilizes the creation of quilts as an underlying metaphor for unity and for following one's own inner pattern. As always, Chevalier's gift for visual landscaping, poetic prose, and character creation make this novel immersive and memorable.
The Last Runaway utilizes the creation of quilts as an underlying metaphor for unity and for following one's own inner pattern. As always, Chevalier's gift for visual landscaping, poetic prose, and character creation make this novel immersive and memorable.
kiminindy's review against another edition
5.0
excellent as always. great character development and the book pulls you in quickly.
lynn4mk's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
drianturner's review against another edition
5.0
In the last year I have read Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, which I loved. So the themes of this book were very familiar, and welcome. In a sense this is a (wonderful) 'sequel' to the Underground Railroad. There are new characters and places, on the slaves' journeys to freedom in the North and Canada, without the level of violence and horror of Whitehead's novel.
The main character is a Quaker girl from Dorset, who moves to America. Quakers are abolitionists but her Quaker community in Ohio are much more law abiding, and therefore much more compliant in helping slave hunters. A great struggle between religious consciousness and the economic benefits of slavery. I enjoyed it so much I have started another of Chevalier's books set in Ohio in the 19th Century, At the Edge of the Orchard.
The main character is a Quaker girl from Dorset, who moves to America. Quakers are abolitionists but her Quaker community in Ohio are much more law abiding, and therefore much more compliant in helping slave hunters. A great struggle between religious consciousness and the economic benefits of slavery. I enjoyed it so much I have started another of Chevalier's books set in Ohio in the 19th Century, At the Edge of the Orchard.
lareine27's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
heidihaverkamp's review against another edition
4.0
Honor Bright is a quiet Quaker woman who emigrates from England to Ohio in the 19th century. She has to make a place for herself after things don't work out the way she planned, and then she begins to encounter the trickle of runaway slaves that flowed through Ohio to Canada before the Civil War. She becomes involved with helping and aiding them on their way, despite the dangers to herself and her family (Fugitive Slave Act). Great storytelling, frank look at the limited but often ingenious choices of women for selfhood and independence in that time and the bravery of the escaped Black people who made their way to freedom, as well at the brutality of slave hunters. Also examines what it means to be American - Chevalier studied the words of Europeans who recorded what they saw, which is interesting, from the enormous quantities of food we like to serve and eat, to our love of self-sufficiency and staunch independence, to our tend to escape our problems by pulling up stakes and moving from one place to another.
The one part I didn't believe was Honor's sexual tryst in a cornfield. Really? A prudish, introverted, Quaker woman is going to let some guy take all her clothes off, and then some, without any questions or hesitation? It seemed out of character and a little a-historic.
The one part I didn't believe was Honor's sexual tryst in a cornfield. Really? A prudish, introverted, Quaker woman is going to let some guy take all her clothes off, and then some, without any questions or hesitation? It seemed out of character and a little a-historic.