When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

 

This is a short novel, but it packs a wallop. When the Reckoning Comes takes place in a small Southern town where Mia has returned reluctantly to attend her childhood best friend's wedding. Mia had escaped Kipsen ten years before, along with the horrifying memory of a trip to Woodsman, an abandoned plantation deep in the woods. 

Mia doesn't want to return but Celine, her only white friend growing up, calls and begs her to attend. Celine, Mia, and Jesse all grew up poor and on the outs with the kids of Kipsen. Celine and Jesse stayed, and now Celine is marrying a rich man at the newly renovated Woodsman plantation. 

Mia arrives, and is horrified by what she sees at the plantation: all black servers, reenactments of slave labor, and a basic white-washing of all the terrible history of Woodsman Plantation. Rumors of ghosts of the slaves still abound, and it's definitely a place that looks beautiful but is rotten at the core. There have been a few weird deaths on or near the plantation over the years, and rumors that the slaves have returned from the dead to exact revenge on townspeople who are descended from the white people who worked and lived at the plantation. Can they be true? And what does Mia believe?

As the wedding morning arrives, Celine is missing from her room and no one can find her. Tensions start to rise, and Jesse and Mia frantically try to figure out what happened to Celine, all the while conscious of supernatural activities ramping up. It appears the ghosts have arrived, and they are angry.

This was truly a spooky read. The horrors of the plantation and the absolute depravity of plantation owner Roman Woodsman made me cringe a few times. The anger of the dead slaves is palpable, and wow I'd be bent on revenge, too. After all, it is said their blood soaked into the soil and has remained there all this time. Not even graves for those who died. 

It's short, brutal, and oh so good. Wow. A powerful novel about slavery, the attempts we have today to gloss over the horror of it; the way it decays a town and poisons generations. The tension in this novel slowly bumps up until your heart just about leaps out of your chest. 

I haven't read horror for a bit, and this was a great way to dip my toe back into this genre. History and horror are an interesting mix. 

Rating: 5/6 for a terrifying novel about revenge, racism, the afterlife, and how true history will always comes out. Some things should be left to rot in the woods. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

This novel caught my eye when I read the short description on the dust jacket--post Civil War? Yep. Sign me up. I continue to be fascinated with the Civil War and the years after, when quite frankly, the U.S. was still a mess. This novel was even better than I had hoped. 

Dual storylines tell the stories of 1875 Hannie Gossett, former slave and now sharecropper at Goswood Plantation, and 1987 Benny Silva, first year English teacher at an impoverished school in Augustine, Louisiana. The same  place where Hannie's story begins. Little does Benny know it, but she will be instrumental in uncovering Hannie's story, long forgotten under the burden of poverty that haunts Augustine. 

Hannie knows her former master had a mistress, and a daughter: Juneau Jane. His wife knows, too, and is a cruel woman, along with her daughter Lavinia. Juneau Jane secretly travels to the plantation one night to find paperwork that will prove her father has given her land of her own. Lavinia knows about it, and when Juneau Jane can't find the paperwork in the library, Lavinia convinces her to travel to New Orleans to seek out a businessman who will help them find the papers. Unfortunately, Lavinia is up to no good, and Hannie disguises herself in order to drive the wagon that takes the young ladies to New Orleans. Once there, they fall into really big trouble, and it's up to Hannie to save the girls and get them safely out of harm's way. Their journey will take them to Texas in search of William Gossett, who left on a business trip months before and has not been heard of since. Will they find him? Will they safely make it back home? 

In 1987, Benny's struggling to contain her class, and is in despair she'll ever be able to reach her students. On a walk one day, she discovers the grand Goswood plantation house, sitting empty. It's maintained, but no one lives there. She spies a very full library inside and decides those books will help her reach her students. Nathan Gossett is the owner, but wants nothing to do with the home. He's also Benny's landlord, renting her a small home on the edge of the town's cemetery. As Benny explores the library, she digs deeper into the town's past, and the tangled history of slavery, war, and freedom. She also learns more about Nathan's family and the tangled web that keeps him from living at Goswood. 

So how does Hannie's story mesh with Benny's? I can't tell you--you have to read the book! I still can't decide which story was more compelling. Hannie's desire to find her family-all sold off years before, is the main driver of her mission in life. It's also what connects the past to the present, in many surprising ways. 

It took me a bit to get into this novel, but when I finally did wow--such a good story! There's an author note at the end, letting you know how Lisa Wingate came to write about the book of lost friends. It's pretty interesting, and a must read. 

Rating: 5/6. I highly recommend this novel for book clubs, history buffs, and anyone who loves a read packed with drama, plenty of interesting characters, and the enduring love of family. Hannie is one amazing character you won't soon forget. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

Read Off the TBR Pile: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

This is a novel I've been wanting to read for quite some time. February is African American History Month, and I felt this was the perfect time to read it. I finished last night, and had to take some time to digest, because it's a book that left me gobsmacked. 

First of all, Colson Whitehead is an amazing writer. Amazing. This was a novel that grabbed me and occasionally let me come up for air. I  read it in chunks, because some of it was brutal, and left me feeling a bit sick and horrified. 

Cora is a young slave working the cotton fields at the Randall plantation in Georgia. Two brothers own two parts of the plantation, and while she is under the ownership of the less brutal brother, it is still a harsh life. Her mother Martha had run away when Cora was very small, and the famous slave catcher Ridgeway had failed to bring her back to the plantation. Ridgeway just could never let that go, and that plays a big part in Cora's journey throughout the novel. Cora herself is at turns angry and bitter at her mother for leaving her, and desperately missing her mother. 

Cora's owner dies, and his brother Terrance takes ownership of the whole plantation. Terrance is quite possibly the most sadistic and horrible character in the novel. He has his eye on Cora, and she is terrified of what's to come. Caesar, a fellow slave, decides to run, and asks Cora to go with him. The two run away and so begins Cora's amazing flight to freedom. 

The underground railroad is stunning; it's an actual railroad, complete with trains and tracks. Cora travels from Georgia to South Carolina and beyond. At each stop she thinks she's found a safe place. The people who help along the way are all part of a huge network of folks who risk their lives to keep the railroad moving. Some of them pay a harsh price. 

I can't tell you more, because if you haven't read it, you should and discover Cora's journey for yourself. While some reviewers expressed disappointment in not getting to know Cora on a deeper level, I didn't find that to be true. The brutality she experiences is told in a matter of fact way which makes it that much more awful. This was every day life. I was reminded at times of witch hunts--people taking the opportunity to turn others in on suspicion in order to get even for imagined slights. I was reminded of World War 2, when people took great risks to hide Jews and help them get to safety. I was reminded of those people who were so afraid for their own safety that they willingly, and sometimes gleefully betrayed others in order to survive. Time and again, Whitehead reminds us that the machine of the South was relentless, asking for more and more human flesh to keep it churning, greedy for more cotton, more money. 

The "magical realism" of the railroad and some of Cora's experiences portray a world gone mad and out of control. Time and again, Cora meets and loses someone; she must continue on this journey alone. Ridgeway has not given up on finding Cora and bringing her back to the plantation. He's obsessed with her, and will not let Martha's daughter escape. 

Will Cora make it to freedom? Is it worth the sacrifices and loss she must suffer?   Will she ever find Martha?

This is a novel that will stick with me for a long time. I feel emotionally exhausted. Worthy of all the accolades, and definitely one of the best books I've read in a very, very long time. 

Rating: 6/6 for a Pulitzer prize winning novel that is astonishing in the brutal portrayal of slavery and a flight to freedom. A cast of unforgettable characters and excellent writing make this truly an epic read. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.  

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Read Off the TBR Pile: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Dreams of Falling by Karen White

I've had a discussion with a number of people in the past few weeks about how I don't seem to have the time I used to for reading, and how it bothers me a lot.  They've all said the same thing: I just have more stuff going on day to day, and it leaves less time for reading. 

BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO. Dang it. I've eagerly awaited Karen White's latest novel, and was excited to check it out at the library last week before I took a few days off for a family visit and party. I was happy thinking I could read this book in just a few days, in the quiet of my home. 

Nope. That didn't happen. Instead, I was so busy with family, the only time I had to read was when I went to bed at night, and that lasted just a few minutes before my eyes were drifting shut.  It took me much longer to read Dreams of Falling that I expected or wanted to take. I finally finished it today when I got home from work. Phew. 

You probably know I'm a big fan of Karen White, in particular her paranormal series that started with The House on Tradd Street. But, I also love her stand-alone novels.  They usually mix a contemporary issue rooted in a story that is either one or two generations behind. Add in a Southern setting, and I'm all in for an enjoyable read. I've never been disappointed, and that includes her latest, set in South Carolina. 

Larkin Lanier is from Georgetown, SC. She's been living in New York City for the past nine years, fleeing after high school graduation; angry at her parents, her best friends, and pretty much everyone. Beautiful and loved by many, Larkin was raised to believe she could be anything, do anything she wanted-she was special, and a star. A humiliating incident with her high school crush ruined her friendship with her best friends, twins Mabry and Bennett. Now she's been called back, as her mother Ivy has gone missing, and everyone is frantic to find her. 

Once back in Georgetown, Ivy is found, badly injured and unconscious at the ruins of her family's once stately plantation, Carrowmore. In the hospital, in a coma, we listen to Ivy's thoughts, as she struggles to find peace and forgiveness before she can leave her family behind. We also have Larkin's point of view, as she tries to figure out why her mother was at Carrowmore, and what she wanted to tell Larkin about her past. Ceecee and Bitty, two old friends of Larkin's grandmother Margaret, have practically raised Larkin, and before her, her mother Ivy. The fire at Carrowmore, fifty years before, killed her grandmother, and no one knows what happened. All of these things keep Ivy tied to her comatose body, and she can't leave until not only she finds peace, but Larkin figures out all of the secrets that Bitty and Ceecee have been holding since 1951. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I wish I could have read it much faster. It's the kind of story I like to sink into, and devote large chunks of time to reading it. I couldn't wait to get back to it everyday. I thought the use of Ivy's perspective, given that she was in a coma and dying, was pretty interesting, and helped me, the reader, understand her a little better. The dynamics between Larkin and Bennett, her childhood friend turned hottie, and her strained relationship with her father helped balance the big chunk of time devoted to the back story regarding Ceecee and Bitty; their relationship with Margaret in 1951, and how they fit into both Ivy and Larkin's lives. It's definitely an interesting family dynamic-one that is not made of blood, but friendship and promises written on ribbons and tucked into a tree. 

Fans of Karen White won't be disappointed. I certainly wasn't, and darn it all, now I have to wait another year for her next novel. 

Rating:  4/6 for an intriguing family tale that spans decades. Larkin learns that never asking questions can leave you with a hollow space that should be filled with family history, and a sense of knowing where you're from and who came before you. Larkin is a bit prickly, but I warmed up to her, and you will, too. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Dreams of Falling by Karen White

I Finally Read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Oh, Kitchen House.  You've been on my TBR list for years and years.  You've been sitting on my bookshelf for so long your pages are yellowed.  Why it took me so long to finally read you, I don't know.  Maybe I was afraid you wouldn't live up to my expectations.  Maybe it finally took reading Kitchen House for a book group that did it.  So now, I've finally read you, and I am feeling very torn in my feelings about the book. What?!

Told in alternating chapters between Lavinia, a young Irish indentured servant, and Belle, the slave (and secret daughter) of the Captain, owner of Tall Oaks Plantation, The Kitchen House takes place in late 1790's Virginia.  Miss Martha, wife of the Captain, is a delicate creature, who is convinced that Belle is the captain's lover; her two children Marshall and Sally are spoiled plantation kids.  Things start to go sour when a tutor is hired to teach Marshall.  Poor Marshall.  It's obvious he's being sexually abused by the tutor, but as the story is told through the eyes of a slave and a young, naive girl, there are plenty of hints, but he's never caught.  That tutor destroys Marshall, and Marshall ends up becoming a horrible adult.  When Marshall takes his anger out on his sister Sally, the tragic consequence sends Miss Martha into labor with her third child, and sends her mentally over the edge.  She's never the same again.  That's just one of the many tragedies that visit the slaves and owners of Tall Oaks.  No one is safe from the hardships and sadness that seem to arrive like clockwork.  

At the heart of this novel is the treatment of slaves, and the fact that there are slaves.  Knowing there were decades to go before emancipation made this a bit harder for me to read.  Lavinia was a bit of a frustration for me, as well.  She's just a young child when she arrives at Tall Oaks, rescued from a ship after her parents, Irish immigrants both die onboard.  With no other family (her brother Cardigan is taken away by someone else), the Captain brings Lavinia home, to be an indentured house servant.  After recovering from her ordeal, she ends up staying most of the time in the kitchen house, which is where all the meals were prepared, and situated away from the main house for safety's sake.  There, she is drawn into the loving family of Mama and Papa, Uncle Jacob, Ben, and Belle.  It doesn't matter to her that they are slaves; they are the family she needs, and they love her and take care of her.  It takes Lavinia years to understand that she is treated differently because she's white and they are black, and considered property.  As the years pass, Lavinia doesn't ever seem to really understand the complex relations that swirl around the plantation.  I found her naiveté to be annoying, and I wanted her to be a strong, capable woman.  I never felt like she achieved that at all.  

Yes, there is so much that happens in this novel.  People finding happiness, even if only for a brief time; tragedy upon tragedy; folks giving up on life; children neglected in their youth growing into unpleasant adults.  There's even the sadistic overseer who always appears at the worst times.  It's a definite soap opera.  

So, I did like the story, but I felt there was so much crammed into it, that there was never a peaceful time for anyone.  Will, as a neighbor who helps run Tall Oaks at certain times, was the most decent man in the whole bunch.  Lavinia I found to be annoying the most as an adult, trapped in a terrible marriage, and also trapped by the few options she had--but instead of fighting hard, she caved.  I was hoping for a heroine who really met life head on.  Lavinia wasn't that person.  Belle, poor Belle.  She never got a break, and was never acknowledged publicly as the daughter of the Captain.  

I'll be discussing this novel next week with my book group, and I'm interested in what they will say about it.  I felt it was a little too soap opera-ish, with a weak main character in Lavinia.  There weren't any surprises at all in the plot; I felt like I had read this storyline before.  

Rating:  2/6 for a solid story that shows a lot of research; but I felt Lavinia's naiveté held her back, and the novel suffered for it.  Too much drama, and just outright crazy happenings. Every plantation life trope was in this novel. 

Available in paperback, large print, audio, and ebook. The paperback also has book group questions to help guide discussion, if you need them. 

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I Finally Read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell

It's been awhile since I've read a teen book.  I thoroughly enjoy teen reads and have read some amazing tales over the years.  Sweet Unrest was a great one to pick off my bookshelves and dive into this Halloween season.  

Sweet Unrest has a few things in it that always grab my interest:  New Orleans, plantation house, ghost, and evil.  Yes, this novel does have the usual teen love interest, but here's the kicker:  it involves reincarnation and a ghost.  What do you do when the person you love with all your heart is a ghost and you're alive?  I don't think I'm giving anything away about the plot.  It's pretty easy to figure out--right away.  

Plot:  Lucy Aimes reluctantly moves to New Orleans with her parents and younger brother.  Her father is a history professor who's taken a position as curator of Le Ciel Doux, an antebellum sugar plantation just outside of New Orleans.  It's now a tourist stop, complete with costumed guides and outbuildings.  Lucy is not happy to be here, and hopes to go back to Chicago at the end of the summer to finish her senior year of high school.  She's a gifted photographer, and has agreed to help her dad document the plantation.  She's also been experiencing the same unsettling dream over and over again growing up, and it's just become more ominous and frequent:  she's drowning, and can't save herself.  

Cue spooky atmosphere at the plantation.  The house itself is gorgeous, but has an air of nastiness around it.  Lucy and her family live in a small cottage near the plantation, so she's spared living in the main house itself.  Soon after moving in, Lucy notices a gorgeous young man standing at the back of a crowd of employees who are at their first meeting with her father.  She's pretty struck by his looks and intensity.  And of course he lasers in on her.  Soon after, she finds him at a nearby pond, and learns his name is Alex.  He's got a bit of a French accent, and seems pretty focused on her.  She's drawn to him and can't explain why. 

And then the dreams begin.  Lucy dreams of Alex, and a young woman named Armantine.  Forbidden love due to Armantine's mixed blood doom the two.  She's torn between wanting to believe Alex loves her, and wary of losing her heart to a man who may not keep his promise to marry her and instead make her his mistress, as most beautiful quadroons in New Orleans end up.  Dark forces swirl around the two in the shape of Thisbe, a local voodoo woman (who scares the bejesus out of everyone around her).  What happens to Alex and Armantine?  How are they tied to Lucy in today's world?  

Lucy has a mystery to solve before it's too late.  Evil from the plantation is still wandering around in Lucy's time, and Lucy must learn to trust both Alex and Mama Legba.  Who's Mama Legba?  She's a strong and powerful priestess who can help Lucy navigate the world of light and dark, goodness and evil.  And she is Lucy's strongest ally to discover what really happened to Alex and Armantine in 1841.  

This was an enjoyable stroll through the mystery that is New Orleans.  I've always loved reading this kind of novel, and for a teen story it has enough history and thorough research into voodoo to keep it interesting.  I'll admit the plot involving Alex is certainly a unique one that I haven't seen elsewhere.  Lucy does seem a bit lost at first, but she quickly clicks into what's going on and becomes determined to figure things out.  She's not afraid to do what she has to, and it's refreshing to see a strong teen female lead carry a story.  This is a trend in teen fiction that has had a long life, and only seems to be growing.  Girl power!

Rating:  7/10 for the history and unique love story between what was, and what is.  A strong female lead who doesn't have all the answers but isn't afraid to keep digging.  A good ghost story that won't keep you up at night. 

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Sweet Unrest by Lisa Maxwell

Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

I've been returning to the South again in my reading lately.  But, the book I'm reading now is about time travel and England, so I've moved pretty far beyond the South after this novel.  I'm sure I'll be visiting the South again soon.

But--Blue Asylum is definitely not a typical Civil War-Era type of novel.  It explores a problem many women faced in the 1800's:  not agreeing with their husbands, and being accused of insanity.  Off they are sent to asylums, often not ever seeing freedom again.  

Iris Dunleavy has been sent to Sanibel Island (off the coast of Florida) to an asylum (the best, most expensive one around) because she is not the biddable wife her husband wants.  She's been set before a judge, convicted of insanity, and sent away.  All in the midst of the Civil War; her husband is a Virginia plantation owner who is truly cruel and mean.  What Iris did to stroke his anger is slowly revealed throughout the novel--but she is by no means insane.  If anyone is, it's her husband.  

On Sanibel Island, there is a cast of characters:  Dr. Cowell, the man in charge;  his young son Wendell who is the only child on the island; and Ambrose Weller; a Rebel soldier suffering moments of intense PTSD.  Ambrose is an honorable man; quietly playing chess--he's different from the rest of the inmates who are clearly quite insane.  Iris is determined to leave the island, but Dr. Cowell refuses to believe her story--his blindness masks a growing attraction to this patient who is quite unlike anyone else on the island.  

Wendell is a 12 year old boy who has spent most of his life on the island.  He runs around, fishes, collects shells, and tries very hard to move past an infatuation with a previous patient that ended in tragedy.  He is a bit lost and trying to find his place on the island.  

Iris and Ambrose soon connect and begin to play checkers every day, telling each other their tales, slowly revealing what brought them to Sanibel Island.  They are falling in love, and even though Iris is married, they hope to escape and be together.  Can Iris save Ambrose from his war demons?  Can Iris ever be believed, or will her husband win again?  

I've read some reviews where people said this book was just too depressing.  It is sad.  It reveals the horrors of war and slavery; and making choices that can haunt a person until they are driven mad. Can we ever be at peace with our past?  I'll just say that Ambrose will tear your heart out.  

Add this to your list if you like Southern fiction.  It reminded me a bit of The Rebel Wife --a twist on the usual Civil War fiction.  It also would be a great book group title.  

Rating:  7/10 for Iris and Ambrose and their haunting tales; a subject that it not explored much in modern fiction, and a beautiful setting on Sanibel Island.

Available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall