Reviews

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

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Gah I did it… that whole book was hard to swallow. From start to end. I was anxious the entire time and could not put it down. I just had to know how her story turned out. And I must say… it’s a difficult book to review, because it was indeed gripping, well written and well told but oh the horror. This one wasn’t worse than your average book during this awful time period, but some of the brutality, especially when women were pregnant or with small children really just breaks you and you can’t believe that this was ever real life.

The main character is so admirable. And you want the best for her and all around her and you just want to SCREAM at the injustices of it all. Her story was sad but probably better than most. I would have been glad to have more to the ending. I always like a little more. I read this book very quickly. Stayed up late and it gave me nightmares. I wanted to stop at a happy spot but there rarely was one. This is a quick read, inspired by true atrocities. I can only read books like these spread out throughout the year. It’s time for something happy.

lorie336's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

paigesnodgrass2525's review

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adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Such an incredible read!! I wish they continued the book and didn’t leave off on a cliff hanger!!

ljcampbell's review

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emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

nenation's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

threegoodrats's review

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4.0

This work of historical fiction about an enslaved woman is very difficult to read, but if you can get through the first several chapters it gets a little bit easier to take. If it wasn't based on reality, the cruelty would seem over-the-top and just not believable, but unfortunately these situations were all too commonplace. We should be deeply ashamed of this history, but usually we just choose to brush it off as the past and ignore it. Pheby was a great character who felt real, and who was frequently faced with extremely difficult decisions, and she just made the best of a bad situation. The epilogue felt a bit abrupt and I really want to know why she didn't go seek out certain people once she was free, but that's a minor quibble. This novel is excellent.