Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly, for it cheery title, brings the reader to the United States during the Civil War. The story builds on this history of the Woolsey sisters and adds the story of Jemma, a girl born in slavery in the south and Anna-May, Jemma's owner. From these three perspectives, the book studies the history and atrocities of slavery and the Civil War. It depicts the individual personal stories of these women, and through them, brings to life a tine and place in history.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/12/sunflower-sisters.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/12/sunflower-sisters.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
Karen S. (MKSbooklady) reviewed Sunflower Sisters (Woolsey-Ferriday, Bk 3) on + 989 more book reviews
The story of three women, Slight Spoiler alert-so read on at your own risk.. Jemma, a slave, in Maryland, Georgy, an abolitionist, in NYC and Anne May, a slave owner in Maryland. George decides to become a nurse, and, just like that, she's a nurse, seemingly going anywhere she wants to, and telling doctors what should be done. Jemma has a more believable story, escaping Maryland, joining the Union Army (in disguise). Anne May, while a slave owner, and not very pleasant in general, has the most interesting story, it's fun watching her get her due. Except for the Georgy parts, this is an interesting historical fiction, worth a look.
Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
This is the 3rd book in The Lilac Girls series. Inspired by true accounts, Sunflower Sisters provides a vivid look at the Civil War experience of three characters. Georgeanna Woolsey is an ancestor of Caroline Ferriday from Lilac Girls. She is a Union nurse whose calling leads her to cross paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and conscripted into the army, and Anne-May Wilson, a Southern plantation mistress whose husband enlists. I have read the other two books (Lilac Girls and Lost Roses) but Sunflower Sisters is my favorite. We get a first-hand look at slavery through Jemma and all of its social injustice. Through Anne-May we get a peek of a plantation owner and how they treated the slaves. We follow the characters to a war-torn New York City and to the horrors of the battlefield at Gettysburg. I found the book to be well-written and well-researched. This is the last book in the trilogy but I look forward to seeing what Kelly writes next. If you love history then you should read this series.
