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A review by lifelivedbooked
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen: A Novel by Sarah Bird
3.0
This is really a 2.5 out of 5 star read for me, but I rounded up just because I loved the story.
Cathy Williams is a slave when General Sheridan of Union forces frees her and takes her on to be an assistant cook during the Civil War. When the Civil War ends, Cathy decides to disguise herself as a man and join the U.S. Army, believing this to be her best opportunity to leave the South and truly be free. Based on a real woman, this historical fiction account of the Civil War and the years after were tied in nicely with true historical figures and events. The novel is clearly well researched; I was most fascinated by the Army's dealing with Native Americans after the Civil War.
I found the writing to be a bit clunky. Told in first person, Cathy's dialect did not read easily and also wasn't terribly consistent. While first person narration is not typically a problem for me, I didn't feel it worked very well in this novel. I also felt that this book is about 100 pages too long; some of the Civil War stuff I found redundant and unnecessary.
Overall, a fine read and an interesting story from the Civil War period that might not have been told otherwise. I received a free review copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review..
Cathy Williams is a slave when General Sheridan of Union forces frees her and takes her on to be an assistant cook during the Civil War. When the Civil War ends, Cathy decides to disguise herself as a man and join the U.S. Army, believing this to be her best opportunity to leave the South and truly be free. Based on a real woman, this historical fiction account of the Civil War and the years after were tied in nicely with true historical figures and events. The novel is clearly well researched; I was most fascinated by the Army's dealing with Native Americans after the Civil War.
I found the writing to be a bit clunky. Told in first person, Cathy's dialect did not read easily and also wasn't terribly consistent. While first person narration is not typically a problem for me, I didn't feel it worked very well in this novel. I also felt that this book is about 100 pages too long; some of the Civil War stuff I found redundant and unnecessary.
Overall, a fine read and an interesting story from the Civil War period that might not have been told otherwise. I received a free review copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review..