A review by meringued
Ferragost by Melina Marchetta

5.0

"Mr. Banyon, I will speak these words one more time. I. Am. Not. A. Spy."
Celie was indeed a spy for Lumatere."

Wow, Marchetta sure is talented to make me love Celie, write a compelling plot, AND sell me on a romance in less than 50 pages. I need more Celie stories in my life! She is an interesting, complex female character (no surprises there, it is Marchetta). Her personality shows that she is strong and clever, with deep ties back to her family and people like all Lumaterans. One of my favorite quotes does better for characterization than some novels struggle to do in chapters.

There was something about her mother's wild spirit that would reveal itself even more when she was amongst her own. Her father had been smart enough to celebrate it and there was a passion to their love that Celie wanted for herself. She knew her mother's wild spirit was deeply hidden inside Celie herself, beneath the layers of what was expected of her. Her mother saw it too. So did her Queen. Few others did. She wasn't feisty or outspoken like other girls in Lumatere, but Celie had a fire burning inside of her and she feared she'd never unleash it.

#relationshipgoals
There is a lot more story to tell here; I hope more short Celie stories are released soon.