Helpful Score: 1
This is a story of long lost sisters, seperated when Trish was only 4 and Billy was a newborn. Trish has an unhappy childhood being raised by very strict white grandparents. Billy has an ideal childhood having been adopted by well educated and successful black parents who have not told Billy she is adopted. After Trish finally visits the graves of her mother and grandparents, she realizes that the baby she was told was killed in the same car crash as her mother is not dead, thus she seeks her out and the story revolves from there. The characters in this book are well developed and highly likeable. It is a very thought provoking book, well worth reading.
I really wanted to like this book, but it took a couple tries for me to get into it. Although I give it credit for having a great premise - baby sisters, black one given up for adoption while the white one is kept - the overall tone of Trish and Billie's narrations was kind of dry and boring and didn't pull me in at all. I never connected with either of them, and the storyline seemed to be crammed full of too many complex issues at once. It was overkill. Dealing with the racial dynamic, the cover up, the secrecy, the hurt and pain, was more than enough for meat and potatoes. And Billie was far too whiny to evoke much sympathy for all her issues.
I really enjoyed the author's first novel, ORANGE MINT AND HONEY, so was excited to try CHILDREN OF THE WATERS, but I don't think it was anywhere near as well written, or as well plotted, as her first. C+
I really enjoyed the author's first novel, ORANGE MINT AND HONEY, so was excited to try CHILDREN OF THE WATERS, but I don't think it was anywhere near as well written, or as well plotted, as her first. C+
