Katie D. (katiems98) - reviewed on 2/9/2013 + 35 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I found this to be one of my favorite books in a long time. You fall in love with the characters, even learn to like Lizzie's "owner," as hard as that may seem. The stories are beautifully and tragically intertwined. You get a serious glimpse (only just a glimpse) of what it was like to be a woman during times of slavery. The book mostly concentrates on the hardships and tragic lives that slave women endured, but at the end, you get a glimpse into the hurt that as also involved in being a slave owner's wife. The man betrayed everyone woman in his life in one way or another.

The biggest problem I have with this book is really struggling to decide if Drayle really loved Lizzie. There are parts of the book that you really feel that he does, then there are parts when you think there is no way that he could love her. I guess that is the irony of the book. Even the author (in the interview at the end of the book) says she does not know if he really loved her.

I have read some of the reviews and see there are complaints that the book did not have very much closure. Though, I can see why they feel that, but I believe that was on purpose. You never find out what happens to Lizzie. With the dates being so close to the Civil War, there is that hope that she eventually got to taste true freedom, and see her children live free. The ending for some of the characters was happy (two of her slave friends...not naming names to spoil the story for others ;) ) but yet either ended tragically or undecided for the rest. I believe this was on purpose as well. Slavery was a horrid, despicable, tragic part of our history. Most endings were not happy. This book stays true to that point. The author wants to leave a taste in our mouths that slavery was disgusting. There were few happy endings.

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