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A review by debs4jc
The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
4.0
This moving story immerses the reader into the world of a young woman coming of age in the South, a young woman who loves their black maid Mary Luther but who experiences first-hand the devastating effects of racial prejudice.
At thirteen Jubie's family is doing their best to teach her how to be a proper Southern lady. Her dad is a successful businessman and her mother has her hands full with four children. Thankfully, they have the help of their maid, Mary. She even comes with them on a vacation--although this is a problem because not many motels in the South will allow her to stay with the family since she is black. Jubie is just old enough to begin to realize that not everyone loves Mary like she does, just because of the color of her skin. She also begins to pick up on the tension that exists between her parents as she begins to get wind of secrets that threaten to tear her family apart. Despite her growing awareness of the prejudice around her, she and her sister Stell choose to visit, with Mary, gatherings of the black church community--and this choice leads a tragedy that will change Jubie's life forever.
I kept comparing this book to The Help as I was reading it, as it also explores the dynamics that existed between "the help" and the white families that employed them. Both books are set against the ominous backdrop of a society that will turn on it's members with violence if they get out of line. In The Help the violence was kept much more in the background than in this book, and as a result I felt like this book took me on much more of a thought provoking and emotional ride. Mayhew's characters are also extremely memorable, I found myself pondering them and wondering what was going to become of them and their family even when I was away from the book. I highly recommend this, especially to readers who enjoyed The Help. It would also be an excellent book for a book discussion group to tackle--I'm sure discussing these characters and the issues explored in this book (while sipping some Southern style sweet tea) would make for a lively meeting.
At thirteen Jubie's family is doing their best to teach her how to be a proper Southern lady. Her dad is a successful businessman and her mother has her hands full with four children. Thankfully, they have the help of their maid, Mary. She even comes with them on a vacation--although this is a problem because not many motels in the South will allow her to stay with the family since she is black. Jubie is just old enough to begin to realize that not everyone loves Mary like she does, just because of the color of her skin. She also begins to pick up on the tension that exists between her parents as she begins to get wind of secrets that threaten to tear her family apart. Despite her growing awareness of the prejudice around her, she and her sister Stell choose to visit, with Mary, gatherings of the black church community--and this choice leads a tragedy that will change Jubie's life forever.
I kept comparing this book to The Help as I was reading it, as it also explores the dynamics that existed between "the help" and the white families that employed them. Both books are set against the ominous backdrop of a society that will turn on it's members with violence if they get out of line. In The Help the violence was kept much more in the background than in this book, and as a result I felt like this book took me on much more of a thought provoking and emotional ride. Mayhew's characters are also extremely memorable, I found myself pondering them and wondering what was going to become of them and their family even when I was away from the book. I highly recommend this, especially to readers who enjoyed The Help. It would also be an excellent book for a book discussion group to tackle--I'm sure discussing these characters and the issues explored in this book (while sipping some Southern style sweet tea) would make for a lively meeting.