Scan barcode
bluewithstars's review
emotional
informative
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The Voices series is exceptionally good and this is another brilliant part of the set. It is honest and doesn' shy away from how badly black people were treated. Kereen Getten is an incredible writer and this is just another example of her super work.
mat_tobin's review against another edition
5.0
Shipped off to London in order to escape a vindictive plantation overseer, Ani and Esi (Ruth and Anna are their given names in order to not offend the white plantation owners) find themselves in a world which they hoped would be free from oppression and fear yet find themselves in a very different type of danger that threatens to pull them apart.
Half-sisters with the same mother but different fathers, Ruth is black and Anna is mixed race: her father is white, well-placed in society and good friends with Samuel Johnson. Unlike Ruth, she has lived a more privileged life yet with restrictions and humiliations Anna was not aware of until both girls leave their mother following Anna's father to his sister's home in England. There, they are housed with his sister, Edith and her daughter, Elizabeth. Furious at having any people of colour under her roof, Elizabeth does all she can to make the girls' lives hell and seeks to be rid of them the moment her brother's back is turned.
Getten is proving that she is excellent at depth of character and complexity too. This was a richly-woven cast of many but they each carry a little spark and the dual narrative approach helped build that strong sense of tension between the sisters: their segregation from the white community should bring them closer but instead it threatens to tear them apart. Very clever themes riding beneath the narrative here.
Half-sisters with the same mother but different fathers, Ruth is black and Anna is mixed race: her father is white, well-placed in society and good friends with Samuel Johnson. Unlike Ruth, she has lived a more privileged life yet with restrictions and humiliations Anna was not aware of until both girls leave their mother following Anna's father to his sister's home in England. There, they are housed with his sister, Edith and her daughter, Elizabeth. Furious at having any people of colour under her roof, Elizabeth does all she can to make the girls' lives hell and seeks to be rid of them the moment her brother's back is turned.
Getten is proving that she is excellent at depth of character and complexity too. This was a richly-woven cast of many but they each carry a little spark and the dual narrative approach helped build that strong sense of tension between the sisters: their segregation from the white community should bring them closer but instead it threatens to tear them apart. Very clever themes riding beneath the narrative here.
thelibrarymouse_64's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the story of two girls: Ruth & Anna. They are half sisters, for they have the same mother, a slave. They are from Jamaica. Ruth has darker skin to Anna, so she is very discriminated when both go to England to live with Anna's aunt. she becomes a object to marvel at, and a slave. Anna's father helps them at the beginning, but he can not do much when he is away from England. one day Anna's aunt makes an evil scheme to get rid of Ruth and put her on the net ship to another place, thankfully, Anna and some friends they made along the way save her.
amy_louise's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
More...