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dsbressette's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book on par with "The Help." The characters in the book are so well described that they seem real. I thought about this book for many days after reading it. It is a real gem.
banrions's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up because of the cover. I know the rule is don't judge a book by its cover, but I do. Not always, I mean if it sounds good but has a stupid cover whatever, but I love good looking books. Also titles. I love me a good title. This book, has both of those things, plus, it happens to be a very well written novel. It reminded me a little bit of The Secret Life of Bees mixed with The Help and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Those are all stories that I liked, and I enjoyed this one as well.
The narrator is a 13 year old girl named June Bentley Watts aka: Jubie and she is fantastic. She is smart, caring, thoughtful, observant, all good things. But she also takes a lot in from what she sees and learns from it. Jubie is the second oldest child in a family of five, her older sister Stell (Estelle) is polite, pretty, religious, does most things right, where Jubie does not. Her younger sister Puddin (Carolina) is adorable and sweet, and her toddler brother Davie can do no wrong because he is a baby, but more importantly, he is a boy. Jubie's father seems to single her out in punishments (spankings, beatings etc.) and her mother tends to ignore her children, letting their maid, Mary, take the reins. The novel starts at the beginning of the summer and Jubie and her family (minus her father) are going to stay with their uncle for vacation. Their maid, Mary is coming along. This being 1954 in the south, they run into race issues. But the novel is not about race, its about Jubie and the people in her life.
Jubie is an interesting and lovely character to get to know, her world feels very real and the author (first time) really knows her stuff. Its a great read, with a very pretty cover:)
The narrator is a 13 year old girl named June Bentley Watts aka: Jubie and she is fantastic. She is smart, caring, thoughtful, observant, all good things. But she also takes a lot in from what she sees and learns from it. Jubie is the second oldest child in a family of five, her older sister Stell (Estelle) is polite, pretty, religious, does most things right, where Jubie does not. Her younger sister Puddin (Carolina) is adorable and sweet, and her toddler brother Davie can do no wrong because he is a baby, but more importantly, he is a boy. Jubie's father seems to single her out in punishments (spankings, beatings etc.) and her mother tends to ignore her children, letting their maid, Mary, take the reins. The novel starts at the beginning of the summer and Jubie and her family (minus her father) are going to stay with their uncle for vacation. Their maid, Mary is coming along. This being 1954 in the south, they run into race issues. But the novel is not about race, its about Jubie and the people in her life.
Jubie is an interesting and lovely character to get to know, her world feels very real and the author (first time) really knows her stuff. Its a great read, with a very pretty cover:)
annalisa4's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of a bunch of stories I’ve heard before, just in one.
pebbles1984's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this. It was a quick read and I liked the writing, the setting, and many of the characters. It kept me interested from beginning to end. However, I also felt the story remained a bit superficial and lacked some depth (even though it covers some serious topics) which is what stops me from giving it 5 stars.
corgigirl02's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book & give it a solid 3.5 stars. However, it's certainly not the best novel written about this time period. I loved the character of Mary. I wasn't a fan of many of the others. Overall a great debut novel with some good writing. I breezed thru this book quickly.
paige1947_'s review against another edition
5.0
You must read this if you grew up in the South in 1950's ! Well eveyone should read this book It is great
brooke_review's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent story. This book had everything that I look for in a great novel. Compelling, engaging, a page-turner, one you can't put down, an interesting story, vivid characters, emotion, intensity, and grit. I read it one day - loved it.
jenleah's review against another edition
3.0
Well written, but very sad. I'm giving 3 stars for the quality of the book, the storyline was probably more of a 1.5. I never looked forward to picking this up, I knew nothing happy would happen.