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turningthepage2024's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
jeisel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I didn’t love this as much as I loved The Kitchen House. As a sequel to The Kitchen House it was interesting to hear how the characters continued on but as new characters were introduced fixed I just didn’t connect and/or care to much. I was never really invested in the story as I was the first. This could however absolutely be read as a standalone. It was just ok for me but I found myself not caring.
floridababe51's review
5.0
OMG what a story! I thought the Kitchen House was fabulous but this one was even better. The emotions this book bring you to are unbelievable. Anger, Sadness & Joy just an absolutely fabulous story that you won’t want to put down. I cried tears of sadness and joy it was an emotional rollercoaster. I’m kind of hoping this won’t be the end to this story and the characters in it.
mamadimo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ambermae35's review
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs
book_concierge's review
3.0
Grissom’s debut - [b:The Kitchen House|6837103|The Kitchen House|Kathleen Grissom|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1463229128s/6837103.jpg|7048306] - became a runaway hit via word-of-mouth and book club recommendations. This book follows one of the characters in the first book over several decades.
There is a good story idea here – Jamie / James is a “runaway” slave who is so light-skinned as to be able to pass for white, and he makes a success of himself in Philadelphia. When the young Negro boy he has taken into his household disappears, the boy’s father pleads with James to go to the south and retrieve the boy. James hires people to search for the boy, but is distracted by his own troubles – an indiscretion threatens to reveal his secret and destroy the life he has built.
There are a number of twists and turn in the plot and Grissom keeps the action moving forward. There are scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. I was caught up in the story and wanted to know how things would turn out, and how the characters would fare. However …
Grissom uses multiple narrators. This is not an easy technique to employ successfully. Grissom has said in numerous interviews that her characters “spoke” to her, and revealed the story in their own way. But the result is that there is less cohesion in the story-telling. The ending felt rushed to me. There was so much danger and uncertainty even 30 pages from the ending, and while there is some ambiguity (not a bad thing given the story arc) about what will happen in the future, it seemed to me that Grissom was trying too hard to wrap things up with a pretty bow.
In summary, it’s a good story and kept me turning pages, but the writing fell short. It earns a solid 3 stars.
There is a good story idea here – Jamie / James is a “runaway” slave who is so light-skinned as to be able to pass for white, and he makes a success of himself in Philadelphia. When the young Negro boy he has taken into his household disappears, the boy’s father pleads with James to go to the south and retrieve the boy. James hires people to search for the boy, but is distracted by his own troubles – an indiscretion threatens to reveal his secret and destroy the life he has built.
There are a number of twists and turn in the plot and Grissom keeps the action moving forward. There are scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. I was caught up in the story and wanted to know how things would turn out, and how the characters would fare. However …
Grissom uses multiple narrators. This is not an easy technique to employ successfully. Grissom has said in numerous interviews that her characters “spoke” to her, and revealed the story in their own way. But the result is that there is less cohesion in the story-telling. The ending felt rushed to me. There was so much danger and uncertainty even 30 pages from the ending, and while there is some ambiguity (not a bad thing given the story arc) about what will happen in the future, it seemed to me that Grissom was trying too hard to wrap things up with a pretty bow.
In summary, it’s a good story and kept me turning pages, but the writing fell short. It earns a solid 3 stars.
lmkramer507's review
5.0
Engrossing. It has been a while since I read The Kitchen House, and the author did a good job of weaving in events from that book into this new story line.
justbecci's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25