Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Dry Grass of August
by
Anna Jean Mayhew (Goodreads Author)
In this beautifully written debut, Anna Jean Mayhew offers a riveting depiction of Southern life in the throes of segregation, what it will mean for a young girl on her way to adulthood--and for the woman who means the world to her. . .On a scorching day in August 1954, thirteen-year-old Jubie Watts leaves Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation....more
ebook, 224 pages
Published
March 29th 2011
by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
I almost couldn't put down this novel set in the segregated South in the early 1950s--Mayhew's first--and wouldn't have if it weren't for that pesky thing called a job.
The story of the summer that 13-year-old June "Jubie" Watts comes of age is a breathtaking glimpse into the relationship between a black maid and her white charges. Like the best-selling The Help, Mayhew breaks new ground exploring the dynamics of this relationship.
When an unspeakably tragic event occurs, Jubie is forced to foll...more
The story of the summer that 13-year-old June "Jubie" Watts comes of age is a breathtaking glimpse into the relationship between a black maid and her white charges. Like the best-selling The Help, Mayhew breaks new ground exploring the dynamics of this relationship.
When an unspeakably tragic event occurs, Jubie is forced to foll...more
This book was so good!! The main character is Jubie, a 13 year old girl living in Charlotte, North Carolina in the late 1950s. Two stories are told: one is Jubie's trip down South with her, mother, her siblings and their black maid Mary. The other story is back story, to learn more about their family. Secrets are revealed in the back story that make you understand things happening on the trip much better. Plus, the deep racism of 1950s Florida and Georgia heighten the tension to it's inevitable...more
I picked this up because of the cover. I know the rule is don't judge a book by its cover, but I do. Not always, I mean if it sounds good but has a stupid cover whatever, but I love good looking books. Also titles. I love me a good title. This book, has both of those things, plus, it happens to be a very well written novel. It reminded me a little bit of The Secret Life of Bees mixed with The Help and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Those are all stories that I liked, and I enjoyed this...more
Review by Sarah:
The Dry Grass of August is Anna Jean Mayhew's debut novel about 1950s southern racism seen through the eyes of a thirteen-year old white girl.
When thirteen-year old Jubie Watts embarks on a road trip with her mother, siblings, and the family's black maid named Mary, Jubie witnesses in full effect how racism becomes more prevalent driving from North Carolina to Florida. When tragedy befalls Mary, Jubie is confronted with the rudest awakening to just how horrible and evil the worl...more
The Dry Grass of August is Anna Jean Mayhew's debut novel about 1950s southern racism seen through the eyes of a thirteen-year old white girl.
When thirteen-year old Jubie Watts embarks on a road trip with her mother, siblings, and the family's black maid named Mary, Jubie witnesses in full effect how racism becomes more prevalent driving from North Carolina to Florida. When tragedy befalls Mary, Jubie is confronted with the rudest awakening to just how horrible and evil the worl...more
"In August of 1954, we took our first trip without daddy, and Stell got to use the driver's license she'd had such a fit about...if she hadn't had it, we never would have been stuck in Sally's Motel Park...and Mary would still be with us." The first paragraph was both a blessing and curse, a draw but also a stop gap. From the final sentence in the paragraph, I was drawn to the novel, desperate to learn about this family, about its dynamics, and about who Mary was and what had happened to her. Th...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book was recommended by a friend who does extensive reading and I wanted something different from my last report. This is a first novel by the author who is "71" years of age (just a kid!!). The time period is 1954 and the family, which consists of mother who is neglectful, a father who drinks and goes into rages, an older daughter who is believed to be perfect, a 13 year old daughter who narrates the story and is subjected to both her father's rages and her mother's neglect, another daught...more
I thought this was one of the worst books I have ever read. I can appreciate the attempt the author took on, but I feel it was sub standard to be quite blunt. For me, it was like a soap opera. First, this story has been told over and over, and it has been told much better than this one. So, here you go: it has a dysfunctional family, child abuse, childhood emotional neglect, attempted sexual abuse of a house maid, criminal business practices, marital infidelity, substance abuse, racism, racial i...more
This is a quick read that holds the reader's attention, but it does have some flaws. Jubie (real name June Bentley Watts) is a white girl growing up in the South in the 1950s. Of course, she lives in a segregated world, where her family's maid can neither eat nor sleep with the family on their road trip to visit Jubie's uncle. Not having grown up in that time, it was a bit disconcerting to realize that motels wouldn't even have separate accommodations for black people during this time, that Jubi...more
It's the 1950's in Charlotte, NC and 13 year old Jubie and her family (minus her father and plus their black maid Mary) are on their way to Florida for a family vacation. On their way, Jubie takes note of increase in segregation and hostilities towards Mary, whom Jubie adores. The trip does not end well, as manifested in the first couple of chapters, the rest of the book being a flash back of incidences that occur to their family down in Florida and on their way back home.
I did not like this bo...more
I did not like this bo...more
First--I listened to the audio version, and I thought the narrator was stellar. I think sometimes that can make a huge difference.
When I'm undecided about reading a book, I go straight to the panning reviews--for some reason that I haven't bothered to analyze, these are often more helpful (maybe it's just that I'm slightly cynical myself). The first one-star that I read identified the likely audience, and really nailed me, personally--grew up in the fifties in Missouri, clearly remember the yea...more
When I'm undecided about reading a book, I go straight to the panning reviews--for some reason that I haven't bothered to analyze, these are often more helpful (maybe it's just that I'm slightly cynical myself). The first one-star that I read identified the likely audience, and really nailed me, personally--grew up in the fifties in Missouri, clearly remember the yea...more
Any complaints about this may relate to all popular fiction. Most of the complaints start with the words "Why on earth ..." I suppose the point of this book is the many degrees/forms of racism at a turning point in US history, after Brown v. Board of Education. Jubie and her family (minus the father but plus the saintly black maid, Mary) travel from Charlotte, NC to the Florida panhandle to visit Uncle Taylor. We see the indignities of separate and definitely unequal bathrooms, restaurants, and...more
Mayhew’s debut novel is a story of racism in the 1950’s South, a coming-of-age novel, and a look at a family falling apart.
Jubie (June Bentley Watts) is our 13-year-old narrator, growing up in an upper-middle-class family in Charlotte NC with her three siblings. Her life, to this point, is centered on family and school; she is aware of change in the world, yet still somewhat sheltered by her age and the adults around her. But a family vacation to visit her Uncle Taylor in Pensacola will open he...more
Jubie (June Bentley Watts) is our 13-year-old narrator, growing up in an upper-middle-class family in Charlotte NC with her three siblings. Her life, to this point, is centered on family and school; she is aware of change in the world, yet still somewhat sheltered by her age and the adults around her. But a family vacation to visit her Uncle Taylor in Pensacola will open he...more
I could not put this book down. I LOVED it! If you liked "The Help" you'll love this book too.
It's beautifully written and every character and every piece of dialogue draws you further into the past. The segregated south of the 1950's was a confusing time for young people who simply saw people for who they were, not for what colour their skin was. This story is beautifully told through the eyes of young teenage Jubie. Over the course of a summer her life changes in ways unimaginable. She goes f...more
It's beautifully written and every character and every piece of dialogue draws you further into the past. The segregated south of the 1950's was a confusing time for young people who simply saw people for who they were, not for what colour their skin was. This story is beautifully told through the eyes of young teenage Jubie. Over the course of a summer her life changes in ways unimaginable. She goes f...more
“A Riveting, Heart-Wrenching Tale You Won’t Forget”
From the very first page, we are introduced to Miss June Bentley Watts; affectionately known as “Jubie”, an “older than her years” thirteen year old who is maturing through the early 1950’s with little to no help from her dysfunctional family. The Watts family unit includes her quick-tempered, abusive Father; Bill, her neglectful, demanding Mother; Paula and three siblings; older Sister, “Stell”, younger Sister, Carolina, better known as “Puddin...more
From the very first page, we are introduced to Miss June Bentley Watts; affectionately known as “Jubie”, an “older than her years” thirteen year old who is maturing through the early 1950’s with little to no help from her dysfunctional family. The Watts family unit includes her quick-tempered, abusive Father; Bill, her neglectful, demanding Mother; Paula and three siblings; older Sister, “Stell”, younger Sister, Carolina, better known as “Puddin...more
If you read and enjoyed "The Help", you must read this book! It's part coming of age story about Jubie Watts, a 13 year old North Carolinian and part story about Southerners (white and black) during the early days of civil right movement. Like "The Help"'s Mae Moebly, Jubie's mother, Pauly, is distant, leaving her to find love and acceptance from the family's "girl", Mary, just as Mae Moebly found love and acceptance from the family maid, Aibileene.
Things are not right in the Watts household. Ju...more
Things are not right in the Watts household. Ju...more
(Part of inside cover)
"On a scorching day in August 1954, Thirteen year old Jubie Watts measures Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation.
Crammed into the Packard along with Jubie are her three siblings, her Mother, and the families black maid, Mary Luther.
For as long as Jubie can remember, May had been there. Cooking, claiming, compensating for her fathers rages and her mothers benign neglect, and loving Jubie unconditionally."
Thoughts:
...... 'sigh'
This book is diffic...more
"On a scorching day in August 1954, Thirteen year old Jubie Watts measures Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation.
Crammed into the Packard along with Jubie are her three siblings, her Mother, and the families black maid, Mary Luther.
For as long as Jubie can remember, May had been there. Cooking, claiming, compensating for her fathers rages and her mothers benign neglect, and loving Jubie unconditionally."
Thoughts:
...... 'sigh'
This book is diffic...more
Wow, what a great read. Jubie, the narrator, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, can see the changes coming from "Brown vs. Board of Education, and it doesn't bother her a bit. Mary, the family's black maid is part of the family. The rest of the family treats Mary very well. In some ways, the family is ahead of the times in race relations.
When the family goes on vacation and takes Mary with them, and travel farther south, the find Mary is still a person non grata to the white folks, who won...more
When the family goes on vacation and takes Mary with them, and travel farther south, the find Mary is still a person non grata to the white folks, who won...more
The Dry Grass of August is Anna Jean Mayhew's first book and it reminded me a lot of the book, The Secret Life of Bees. Dry Grass is well-written, though not as lyrical as Secret Life. However, both books provide a front-row viewing of how white people treated black people in the late '50s/early '60s.
Even though Secret Life described a terrible time in American history, because the majority of the main characters were people with incredible souls and personalities, it was an easier book to read...more
Even though Secret Life described a terrible time in American history, because the majority of the main characters were people with incredible souls and personalities, it was an easier book to read...more
Aug 03, 2011
Carrie Enders
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
book-club-read
I felt this book was a solid three-star read, and it was certainly a quick read. I love the title and the imagery it conjures up. It is beautifully written; and I think if Mayhew's book had come out prior to The Help, I might have given it a higher rating. The topics are very similar in the two books, however, I have to say I did not feel a huge connection between any of the characters in Dry Grass of August.
None of them seem to really delve into anything below the surface. The main character s...more
None of them seem to really delve into anything below the surface. The main character s...more
The Dry Grass of August is the first novel for Anna Jean Mayhew. It took her 18 years to write and was well worth her efforts. She has, with her story of a Southern family, given witness to racism in the 1950's.
Her narrator is a young girl named Jubie who lives in a well to do southern family that employes a "girl". Mary keeps house and helps to raise the children in the Watts family. Jubie loves Mary and Mary returns the affection for Jubie. The Watts family is clearly dysfunctional living wit...more
Her narrator is a young girl named Jubie who lives in a well to do southern family that employes a "girl". Mary keeps house and helps to raise the children in the Watts family. Jubie loves Mary and Mary returns the affection for Jubie. The Watts family is clearly dysfunctional living wit...more
This is the story of 13-year-old June "Jubie" Watts, who travels with her family from North Carolina to Florida in August 1954. Accompanying the family is their black housekeeper Mary, to whom Jubie feels closer than any of her actual family members. Naturally, as the family travels further south, they encounter more and more appalling attitudes and displays of racism, and eventually tragedy strikes.
Let me say that this author did an excellent job of capturing the mind of a 13-year-old girl. He...more
Let me say that this author did an excellent job of capturing the mind of a 13-year-old girl. He...more
What a wonderful book. I loved that it was about the civil rights, although told from the perspective of a young teenage white girl, it had such a gritty feel and brought up several interesting points. No one has ever thought about how the children in the care of a colored nanny feel that I have read a book about. No one talks about the love, the bond these servants formed with the youngest members of the household and I loved that it treated such a sad and hard time of our history with such apl...more
Wow, this was a fantastic debut novel by Anna Jean Mayhew. It has been compared to The Help and The Secret Life of Bees. To be honest, I loved The Help but was completely ambivalent about the Secret Life of Bees. I think that happens to me when there is so much hype about a book that my expectations are too high and are never met. But, I digress. The Dry Grass of August is a true coming of age story about 13 year old Jubie Watts whose life is turned upside down by a tragic event that takes place...more
The Dry Grass of August is Anna Jean Mayhew's debut novel about 1950s southern racism seen through the eyes of a thirteen-year old white girl.
When thirteen-year old Jubie Watts embarks on a road trip with her mother, siblings, and the family's black maid named Mary, Jubie witnesses in full effect how racism becomes more prevalent driving from North Carolina to Florida. When tragedy befalls Mary, Jubie is confronted with the rudest awakening to just how horrible and evil the world can be.
The Dry...more
When thirteen-year old Jubie Watts embarks on a road trip with her mother, siblings, and the family's black maid named Mary, Jubie witnesses in full effect how racism becomes more prevalent driving from North Carolina to Florida. When tragedy befalls Mary, Jubie is confronted with the rudest awakening to just how horrible and evil the world can be.
The Dry...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Anna Jean Mayhew captured the life of a young teen age girl, growing up in the south during the time of segregation and bigotry, in the 1950s. She comes from a very disfunctional family with a woman of color as their maid. Through the years she recalls how she felt about this woman and how close they were, but as you are reading this story you will find out so much more. The family decides to take a vacation and bring "their girl" along with them to help the mother of 4 going further south where...more
This was such a sad, heavy story. It reminded me of The Help but a much harsher portrayal of that time period. I liked how Mayhew was able to express the love and true devotion that Jubie had for Mary. And that despite her mom's fear and her dad being a complete deadbeat of a human being, that she had the courage to make sure she attended Mary's funeral-- even at the risk of Jubie's safety. I was so afraid her dad would beat Jubie again. Jubie was able to convey how much of a confidant, support...more
I listened to this book on my Ipod. The narrator did a fabulous job and used a good southern accent which helped since this story took place in the summer of 1954, in Georgia and North & South Carolina.
13 year old June (Junie, Juby) is telling the story, so we get her interpretation and understanding of situations. You really get to know the entire family and almost feel like a part of it.
Her mother takes her and her 16 year old sister, 7 year old sister, baby brother and their black 'girl'...more
13 year old June (Junie, Juby) is telling the story, so we get her interpretation and understanding of situations. You really get to know the entire family and almost feel like a part of it.
Her mother takes her and her 16 year old sister, 7 year old sister, baby brother and their black 'girl'...more
It is a summer in the early 1950s and Paula Watts along with her four children and their" girl", 46 year old Mary Luther, head to visit Paula's brother in Pensacola. The story of their trip is told by 14 year old June Bentley Watts, known as Jubie. Jubie has always felt out of place in her family. Her older sister, Stell, is the golden child who can do no wrong, younger sister, Puddin, is still a cutie and baby brother, David, is the much wanted boy child. The Watts maid, Mary, is the only perso...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Was this book better than "The Help"? | 7 | 71 | Apr 16, 2013 01:30pm | |
| Audiobooks: Audiobook Giveaway | 6 | 72 | Feb 27, 2012 12:20pm | |
| Southern Lit Lovers: Audiobook Giveaway | 1 | 9 | Feb 24, 2012 02:07pm | |
| Southern Lit Lovers: The Dry Grass of August (Warning: Spoilers Possible!) | 60 | 62 | Sep 30, 2011 07:33pm |
![The Dry Grass of August [With Earbuds] (Audiobook)](http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347643767s/14579112.jpg)
Anna Jean (A.J.) Mayhew’s first novel, The Dry Grass of August, won the 2011 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, and was an Okra Pick of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. Delta Magazine of Mississippi included the book as one of the top five novels of 2011. A Blackstone Audio book came out in December, and the novel is being translated into French and Italian for release in 2013. La...more
More about Anna Jean Mayhew...
Apr 05, 2011 01:43pm