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A review by shhh_tamis_reading
The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a very hard read for me knowing what we know now about tobacco and cancer. I also realized while reading it that my knowledge of this part of history is incomplete, and this book has sparked an interest in learning more.
Reading other reviews I see a stark difference in reviews from those that grew up in North Carolina and nearby. I grew up in Minnesota and have never lived in the south. While I know very basics of tobacco industry coverups, I did not find that the book was over simplistic or over explained these parts of the book.
I do feel it easily crosses into YA territory as the story itself is a coming of age story for the main character, and the title of the book merely references who she works for which is important for the storyline.
The main character is very well written and I grew to love her so much. At times she seemed a bit naive but I also tried to take into consideration the time she was living in and how little information she had while being suddenly very much on her own. I’m also grateful for the epilogue so I wasn’t left wondering what happened.
In addition to the main plot the author was able to include references to other important issues and challenges of the time and place through conversations and events with minor characters, and it was done in a way that added to rather than distracted from the main story.
It was hard to give this book a star rating because of how uncomfortable I often was reading it and this made it hard to fully evaluate all other aspects. I also realize the book can’t be all things and still be the relatively light reading novel it’s intended to be although it could have mentioned race more, and it makes me interested in learning more about the intersection of race and the tobacco industry. I finally settled on 5 stars because the story and characters will stay with me a long long time.
Reading other reviews I see a stark difference in reviews from those that grew up in North Carolina and nearby. I grew up in Minnesota and have never lived in the south. While I know very basics of tobacco industry coverups, I did not find that the book was over simplistic or over explained these parts of the book.
I do feel it easily crosses into YA territory as the story itself is a coming of age story for the main character, and the title of the book merely references who she works for which is important for the storyline.
The main character is very well written and I grew to love her so much. At times she seemed a bit naive but I also tried to take into consideration the time she was living in and how little information she had while being suddenly very much on her own. I’m also grateful for the epilogue so I wasn’t left wondering what happened.
In addition to the main plot the author was able to include references to other important issues and challenges of the time and place through conversations and events with minor characters, and it was done in a way that added to rather than distracted from the main story.
It was hard to give this book a star rating because of how uncomfortable I often was reading it and this made it hard to fully evaluate all other aspects. I also realize the book can’t be all things and still be the relatively light reading novel it’s intended to be although it could have mentioned race more, and it makes me interested in learning more about the intersection of race and the tobacco industry. I finally settled on 5 stars because the story and characters will stay with me a long long time.