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kltageson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0
steffski's review
3.0
Another post civil war book where it seems like only one person had a conscience...but an overall good light read.
monica4782's review
1.0
Meh!
It wasn't good or bad. The part I enjoyed most was all the spiritual dilemmas the characters encounter after the war. I felt I could relate with my questions about God and the feeling He had abandoned them. It took months for me to finish this book because it was just alright. I bought it so I had to finish it but I won't be reading from this author again.
It wasn't good or bad. The part I enjoyed most was all the spiritual dilemmas the characters encounter after the war. I felt I could relate with my questions about God and the feeling He had abandoned them. It took months for me to finish this book because it was just alright. I bought it so I had to finish it but I won't be reading from this author again.
debstubb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
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
4.75
debs4jc's review
3.0
I liked the story. I just thought, especially at the end, that it was unbelievable for the time period and setting. It alternates points of view between the daughter of a white plantation owner and a woman who was formerly enslaved on that plantation. Josephine is the daughter and the events of the civil war have caused her to question how she was raised. Her mother, Eugenia, also gets to chime in and she is very much rooted in the past. So while Josephine wants to help their one remaining servant - Lizzie, their former enslaved field hand - her mother wants her to resume calling on neighbors and looking for a husband. I definitely sympathized a lot with Josephine, who seem to see the realities of their new life and who was willing to change so that they could survive. Her mother just kept thinking about the past and whining about what she didn't have anymore, which was annoying. Their lives all change yet again when a Yankee named Alexander sets up an office of the Freedman's bureau. Lizzie is excited about the prospect of her children going to school. Eugenia is horrified. And Josephine is intrigued by Alexander and his strange new ideas. The resulting twists and turns are pleasant enough to follow, and the themes of embracing the changes that move us toward God was pleasant. However I thought the ending was very contrived and implausible for the time period. My final verdict I guess would be that this historical romance was kind of a mixed bag for me - some good parts and characters that I enjoyed, but I did not find it very believable.
janetll's review
3.0
I would have avoided this book if I had known it was "Christian," but I borrowed it from the library over the Kindle, and I didn't realize. I'm very interested in the subject, post Civil War. The way the book dealt with the time immediately before and after the end of the war was very, very interesting.
As for the Christian message, it wasn't terrible to me, someone who would automatically assume I would hate that kind of thing. Everything didn't turn out OK in the end, nor was everything OK throughout. It was actually a Christian message I can live with, if not embrace.
As for the Christian message, it wasn't terrible to me, someone who would automatically assume I would hate that kind of thing. Everything didn't turn out OK in the end, nor was everything OK throughout. It was actually a Christian message I can live with, if not embrace.
justicepirate's review
3.0
I had a hard time getting into this because at first it just seemed like a pro-slavery story, but that was to just give you a perspective of what Southerners after the Civil War's emotions were like and how they may have seriously felt. It definitely stirred up sorrows in my heart as I read it.
As I went on it became better and better and people were changing and growing. It didn't really get good for me until I got to 250 pages (out of 412 pages in this book). That is not a good thing. After that the story was amazing.
The main characters are as follows:
Josephine goes home after the Civil War is over. She lives down south in Virginia. It is really tough on her family to adjust to having no slaves any longer. Her mother Eugenia is a widow left with two daughters and a son dealing with his hardships of loss. Josephine has a hard time believing in God but she is willing to try to change and finds that doing tasks their slaves once did brings her comfort.
Alexander came from the north and was born a Quaker. He had rebelled against his upbringing and now wants to find peace for his own mistakes and to learn to love his enemies. He also wants to help the Freedmen adjust to a new life away from their slavery they once knew. It has been hard for him, but he trusts that God will see him through.
Otis and Lizzie are a married couple who grew up as slaves on Eugenia's plantation. Lizzie does not want to stick around while her husband does. She has three children to raise and hopes the best for their lives so that they won't have to suffer as she did. She has her own fears and story to tell throughout the book. Her husband Otis has a large trust in God and believes in loving his enemies and doing right by them, which she finds to be ridiculous.
Throughout this book there are relationships of friendships, family, and love that grow. It was very good and I believe speaks much truth for what life back in that time definitely could have seemed to be like. I will give it 3.25 stars.
As I went on it became better and better and people were changing and growing. It didn't really get good for me until I got to 250 pages (out of 412 pages in this book). That is not a good thing. After that the story was amazing.
The main characters are as follows:
Josephine goes home after the Civil War is over. She lives down south in Virginia. It is really tough on her family to adjust to having no slaves any longer. Her mother Eugenia is a widow left with two daughters and a son dealing with his hardships of loss. Josephine has a hard time believing in God but she is willing to try to change and finds that doing tasks their slaves once did brings her comfort.
Alexander came from the north and was born a Quaker. He had rebelled against his upbringing and now wants to find peace for his own mistakes and to learn to love his enemies. He also wants to help the Freedmen adjust to a new life away from their slavery they once knew. It has been hard for him, but he trusts that God will see him through.
Otis and Lizzie are a married couple who grew up as slaves on Eugenia's plantation. Lizzie does not want to stick around while her husband does. She has three children to raise and hopes the best for their lives so that they won't have to suffer as she did. She has her own fears and story to tell throughout the book. Her husband Otis has a large trust in God and believes in loving his enemies and doing right by them, which she finds to be ridiculous.
Throughout this book there are relationships of friendships, family, and love that grow. It was very good and I believe speaks much truth for what life back in that time definitely could have seemed to be like. I will give it 3.25 stars.
beckygomezmd's review
4.0
Lynn Austin is probably my favorite historical fiction author. This was not my favorite book of hers, but it was still really good if you are a historical fiction fan!