Helpful Score: 6
Well, well!! This book was a book that was impossible to put down, kept you wondering: What Next? Beautifully written. We see life in the 50's through the eyes of a 13 year old girl who has a mind of her own(luckily), life in the South and segregation. Highly recommend it!
Helpful Score: 4
A good coming of age novel during very tense times. I felt like I was in the living room with Jubie watching everything that happened. The book starts off with a slow, Southern amble, but then all of a sudden tragedy strikes, and it never slows down after that.
I liked how Jubie was never afraid to stand up for what she believed was right.
I did find it a bit hard to follow at times because the author (who is 71, and this is her first novel!) switches back and forth between the past and the present, but overall, I found it to be very thought provoking.
I liked how Jubie was never afraid to stand up for what she believed was right.
I did find it a bit hard to follow at times because the author (who is 71, and this is her first novel!) switches back and forth between the past and the present, but overall, I found it to be very thought provoking.
Helpful Score: 4
The Dry Grass of August is a deeply felt and powerful debut novel. It is so beautifully written that it could easily have truly happened. Anna Jean Mayhew tells more than a simple story of the South. She takes us back to the South in 1954. She tells of a time of segregation, intolerance and things unspoken.
We see these issues through the eyes, and with the heart of 13 year old Jubie, our narrator. Reaching adolescence as her family is falling apart, Jubie is forced to come to terms with things that will change everything she thought she knew about her family and the world in general.
Anna Jean Mayhew has written an important book in beautiful prose. I savoured every page. Her characters are believable and memorable. I was moved to tears by the reality of this story and the beauty in which it was told. I am humbled by this beautiful story and the author herself.
We see these issues through the eyes, and with the heart of 13 year old Jubie, our narrator. Reaching adolescence as her family is falling apart, Jubie is forced to come to terms with things that will change everything she thought she knew about her family and the world in general.
Anna Jean Mayhew has written an important book in beautiful prose. I savoured every page. Her characters are believable and memorable. I was moved to tears by the reality of this story and the beauty in which it was told. I am humbled by this beautiful story and the author herself.
Helpful Score: 3
This is a very different read. It is highly emotional, with few characters that you can really root for and those few seem to have issues that cannot be helped due to the time period of the book, it makes you embarrassed for your ancestors and your hands are tied there too. It takes a little while to read because you need to reread a few passages to find out what is going on, I feel that the author allowed you to draw your own obvious conclusions, but to me that was different as most authors let you know exactly what is going on without drawing your own conclusions. It is a troubling book about a troublling time with troubled characters. the characters were well written, I feel like I know them, I have vivid pictures in my mind of each of them. This is not another The Help, this is its own individual book filled with emotion, it should be read by all.
Helpful Score: 3
I had this book on my wishlist for a while. When I received it and read the blurbs on the back of the book, I knew it would be my next book to read. I think that might of been my downfall (reading the blurbs). I was expecting so much from this book and when the end came it just fell flat for me.
It's set back in the 50's when racial tension was high especially in the south. The story is told by Jubie, a 13 year old white girl who lives at home with her siblings, parents and her endearing black maid, Mary. The story starts off with the mom, kids and Mary going on a road trip to Florida. Throughout the trip we learn much about Jubie's family and Mary as well. We also start seeing how the racial tension seems to get worse the more south they move.
The characters are what makes this book. They hold close to your heart. The reason I didn't love this book is because I was expecting more. I really thought by the blurbs on the back that Jubie was going to do something extraordinary. Without giving anything away, she did do some great tasks but nothing that really jumped out at you. I know the "justice" that Mary received was typical at that time but was hoping that in this book it wouldn't be typical, that it would instead be something that shocked us all. So when it ended I was like "that's it?". I did enjoy the book, especially the characters, I just wanted more.
It's set back in the 50's when racial tension was high especially in the south. The story is told by Jubie, a 13 year old white girl who lives at home with her siblings, parents and her endearing black maid, Mary. The story starts off with the mom, kids and Mary going on a road trip to Florida. Throughout the trip we learn much about Jubie's family and Mary as well. We also start seeing how the racial tension seems to get worse the more south they move.
The characters are what makes this book. They hold close to your heart. The reason I didn't love this book is because I was expecting more. I really thought by the blurbs on the back that Jubie was going to do something extraordinary. Without giving anything away, she did do some great tasks but nothing that really jumped out at you. I know the "justice" that Mary received was typical at that time but was hoping that in this book it wouldn't be typical, that it would instead be something that shocked us all. So when it ended I was like "that's it?". I did enjoy the book, especially the characters, I just wanted more.
