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utahmomreads's review against another edition
5.0
Miss Hazel and her husband Floyd arrive in Delphi, Mississippi newly married and determined to make their fortune. At least Floyd is determined. Until Floyd brings home a new Lincoln for his wife, Hazel feels like she's just along for the ride. Finding a bit freedom and peace, Hazel dresses up; packs her two young boys in the back seat and becomes famous for driving through town and all over the delta.
Hazel has trouble fitting in with the well bred ladies in town who see her as tacky nouveau riche and suffers from depression. After the death of her son, she drowns her sorrows in alcohol and soon finds herself nearly a prisoner in her own home when Floyd hires Vida to be her maid and make sure she takes her medicine. Vida, a young black woman, has also lost a son and harbors a deep vendetta against the crooked sheriff. The two women form an unlikely alliance as they stir things up in the already the troubled racial climate of Delphi.
Odell's characters come to life within the pages of his novel. Hazel and Vida are troubled, complex women who experience dynamic growth and react in believable ways to the sorrows and devastation in their lives. Every person feels real and not simply type cast supporting characters. They are richly developed and all their lives blend together to create the drama, tension and history familiar to those from a small town.
The pages of Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League are filled with beautiful images and hauntingly lyrical words. Odell is a master of writing and of understanding human temperament and desires. He excels at telling inspiring stories that captivate the reader with a myriad of powerful emotions.
Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League is a beautiful and important novel. If it's possible, I may have loved it even more than I loved The Healing.
Hazel has trouble fitting in with the well bred ladies in town who see her as tacky nouveau riche and suffers from depression. After the death of her son, she drowns her sorrows in alcohol and soon finds herself nearly a prisoner in her own home when Floyd hires Vida to be her maid and make sure she takes her medicine. Vida, a young black woman, has also lost a son and harbors a deep vendetta against the crooked sheriff. The two women form an unlikely alliance as they stir things up in the already the troubled racial climate of Delphi.
Odell's characters come to life within the pages of his novel. Hazel and Vida are troubled, complex women who experience dynamic growth and react in believable ways to the sorrows and devastation in their lives. Every person feels real and not simply type cast supporting characters. They are richly developed and all their lives blend together to create the drama, tension and history familiar to those from a small town.
The pages of Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League are filled with beautiful images and hauntingly lyrical words. Odell is a master of writing and of understanding human temperament and desires. He excels at telling inspiring stories that captivate the reader with a myriad of powerful emotions.
Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League is a beautiful and important novel. If it's possible, I may have loved it even more than I loved The Healing.
mawalker1962's review against another edition
4.0
Read my blog reviewing this book: https://historyloverdiversions.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/miss-hazel-and-the-rosa-parks-league/
kategci's review against another edition
4.0
I am glad I read this and will get to meet the author. It is set in Mississippi in the 1950s at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. Initially, the two main characters, Miss Hazel and Vida, her maid are both disagreeable which almost turned me off to the book. As it slowly progressed, I understood them better, but felt they were types rather than people. There were very serious elements in this story and the author did not always treat them with the seriousness they deserved, to the overall detriment of the story.
100pagesaday's review against another edition
5.0
Hazel grew up one of many children in a rural southern town, but she was determined to get more out of life and found a job in a pharmacy. One customer, Floyd, swept Hazel off her feet with his ideas for business and outlook on life. Soon, Hazel and Floyd are married and settled in Delphi, Mississippi where Floyd sells vehicles. Hazel is expected to be a society lady, but doesn't quite fit in. She does, however find contentment in driving. Hazel begins a family with Floyd and has two healthy boys, but still has trouble seeing herself as a good mother. When her youngest son dies in a tragic accident, Hazel is devastated and slips into drinking and depression. Floyd hires Vida as a maid and to take care of Hazel. Vida takes the position to try to enact revenge on Hazel's neighbor, the sheriff who is responsible for Vida having to give up her son. Hazel and Vida don't exactly see eye to eye, but they are able to come together over the loss of their sons and the racial discrimination that Vida and the other maids face. Together, Hazel and Vida will prove an unstoppable force in campaigned for civil rights in the Deep South.
I completely fell in love with this story and the characters. More than anything, it took me back to Mississippi in the 1950’s. From the manner of speech, Hazel’s many “I swan’s” and Floyds motivational quotes to Hazel’s interior decorating choices and Vida and her father’s experiences made everything very realistic. Hazel and Vida also brought this book alive. Even more than their quest for Civil Rights, the book is about Hazel and Vida’s own growth. Both women are broken over the loss of their sons. Hazel turns to drinking and Vida turns to revenge. Their struggle with what it means to be a mother and their growth as characters during this time in history is what is really highlighted for me. The Civil Rights movement is what allows the women to move on. I really appreciated the author’s authenticity with women being the driving force behind many of the protests and movement of information at the time. I felt like this gave me a great look into another piece of the Civil Rights movement that I never would have known.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
I completely fell in love with this story and the characters. More than anything, it took me back to Mississippi in the 1950’s. From the manner of speech, Hazel’s many “I swan’s” and Floyds motivational quotes to Hazel’s interior decorating choices and Vida and her father’s experiences made everything very realistic. Hazel and Vida also brought this book alive. Even more than their quest for Civil Rights, the book is about Hazel and Vida’s own growth. Both women are broken over the loss of their sons. Hazel turns to drinking and Vida turns to revenge. Their struggle with what it means to be a mother and their growth as characters during this time in history is what is really highlighted for me. The Civil Rights movement is what allows the women to move on. I really appreciated the author’s authenticity with women being the driving force behind many of the protests and movement of information at the time. I felt like this gave me a great look into another piece of the Civil Rights movement that I never would have known.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
nmkrutz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
livcashmere's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hollyg35's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
meghanfulmer's review against another edition
5.0
I knew from the back cover of this book that I would love it. Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League has everything I love: a Southern setting, race relations (Civil Rights era, specifically), and super character development. Miss Hazel tells the stories of two women: Vida, a black maid in Mississippi, and Hazel, a formerly poor (now wealthy) white woman struggling to fit in with all the society women. Both women suffer the loss of their sons, and Vida is then hired by Hazel's husband to act as the family maid. In a somewhat predictable outcome, the women develop a bond, but I found the characters, their voices, their struggles, and the events that unfolded to be authentic and unique. Though I knew from the start that Hazel and Vida would end up becoming fond of one another, I would never have guessed the way in which they would be bound together. There were several minor characters, all very colorful and well-developed, that did not detract from the main story at all, but added to it seamlessly. The character development in this book was phenomenal, and I was so grateful for all of the dialogue that did such a wonderful job of bringing them all to life.
faydrastratton's review against another edition
3.0
This story is more about the town in general than Hazel/Vida and the maids making up a Rosa Parks League--told in multiple point of views. It's all of Delphi's story.. Doesn't quite have the heart and dig into the relationships the way The Help did, but... still a compelling read with powerful moments. The Senators "dead voters" is both funny and scary. Mrs Pearl is a pearl right up until her final monologue and then she's chilling. Our book group also thought the epilogue and prologues... while interesting carried an odd weight, as if to say that the book is really about Nate, but it wasn't his story. So... not sure about that structure.
louslp's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book! Well written, loved the characters and storyline.