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book data
46 ratings,
4.02
average rating, 23 reviews
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published
July 29th 2008
by One World/Ballantine
binding
Paperback, 304 pages
isbn
0345480910
(isbn13: 9780345480910)
description
From the author of The Middle Sister comes a heartwarming tale of second chances and the unparalleled love between mothers and daughters.
When fifteen-...more
When fifteen-...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 207)
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3 stars (7)
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1 star (2)
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avg 4.02
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
All right - it is hard not to feel like a parent of a new child when you are getting ready to introduce a book to the public that you have written. Hey, I'm a mom again!
In the writing of this book I have learned a great many things, some of them very personal. But two things, I'll share: Life goes on despite every hurt that dwells inside of your heart and if it weren't for literacy, both reading and writing, I don't know what I would do with myself.
In the writing of this book I have learned a great many things, some of them very personal. But two things, I'll share: Life goes on despite every hurt that dwells inside of your heart and if it weren't for literacy, both reading and writing, I don't know what I would do with myself.
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(7 people liked it)
16 comments
Read in November, 2008
Going Down South is one of my favorite books this year. I really enjoyed it. This story is about three generations of women in a family-Birdie, Daisy and Olivia Jean-all head strong and stubborn in their own way. It's such a strong story about the connections between mothers and daughters-the good, the bad, and the stuff that ultimately keeps you together. It's set in the South in the 60's and touches on so many issues: color, teen pregnancy, and relationships. The story is told from the point o...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
any woman young or old
RATING: 4.5 out of 5
Reading Going Down South, was like going back in time in more ways than one. There was a period of time in my reading life when I became quite immersed in the reading of African American women authors. It seemed like the more I read, the more I wanted to read. One author led to another as I would read interviews or reviews as well as books. Alice Walker and Toni Morrison novels, J. California Cooper novels and short story collections. Tina McElroy Ansa,...more
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This story about three generations of African American women is tender and real and funny and heartbreaking. My favorite kind of novels are the ones that offer insight into complex human relationships, and this one delivers. I promise you'll love it. Also, I highly recommend it for book clubs.
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Read in September, 2008
This is a reading-group book. You can tell because it's about mothers and daughters, because it has race- and gender-based complications, and because it has Reading Group Questions at the back. Unfortunately, I don't think I found it as edifying as I was supposed to. Going Down South has a solid sense of time and place and culture, even while jumping around between them, but is weaker in plot and characterization, which make that sense of the settings more difficult to appreciate and learn fr...more
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2 comments
Reviewed by hoopsielv for TeensReadToo.com
This is a story of women spanning three different generations.
Olivia Jean is the apple of her daddy's eye and is praised by her mama for her good grades. Now, she's pregnant at fifteen.
Her parents, Daisy and Turk, decide it's best for her to go down south and live with her grandma, Birdie, to hide their shame. Birdie isn't going to make it that easy, though. She gives them the ultimatum that Olivia Jean is welcome to s...more
This is a story of women spanning three different generations.
Olivia Jean is the apple of her daddy's eye and is praised by her mama for her good grades. Now, she's pregnant at fifteen.
Her parents, Daisy and Turk, decide it's best for her to go down south and live with her grandma, Birdie, to hide their shame. Birdie isn't going to make it that easy, though. She gives them the ultimatum that Olivia Jean is welcome to s...more
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Read in January, 2009
recommended to Abby by:
the author!
3 generations of women come together and discover a lot about themselves and their familt history. Set in 1960's Alabama with flashbacks to earlier times. Well written and heart warming.
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10/14/08
Bonnie
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Read in October, 2008
You can read my review Here:
http://redladysreadingroom-redlady.blogs...
http://redladysreadingroom-redlady.blogs...
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09/05/08
Julia
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Read in September, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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2 comments
Most reviews I've seen call it "wonderful" and a great book for and about mothers and daughters.
It's meant to be a thought-provoking, coming of age, multi-generational book. A young girl becomes pregnant and her mother takes her down south to her grandmother's home. Mom and grandma are somewhat estranged, mom and daughter are somewhat estranged. Most of the men are losers. Secrets are shared and ideally everyone comes together at the end.
I couldn't even finis...more
It's meant to be a thought-provoking, coming of age, multi-generational book. A young girl becomes pregnant and her mother takes her down south to her grandmother's home. Mom and grandma are somewhat estranged, mom and daughter are somewhat estranged. Most of the men are losers. Secrets are shared and ideally everyone comes together at the end.
I couldn't even finis...more
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Read in December, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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04/21/09
Iejones
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Read in March, 2009
A heart warming and heart wrenching story about being a girl, mother and granddaughter. The secrets in one family continue to impact suceeding generations of women until the last shoe is dropped and everyone is forced to confront themselves and their actions.
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01/15/09
Phyllis Lohar-singh
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Read in June, 2008
I enjoyed this book as the situation is very common when the Grandmother steps in to be the Mother, sister, friend, Grandmother all in one. The ties the bound were in effect in this novel.
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Read in March, 2009
I really enjoyed this book..it was a quick read, but very well written...it had a lot of twists and turns and secrets...it gave a variety of entertainment...some sad, some funny.
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Read in February, 2009
recommends it for:
people who enjoy women's fiction, women
A bittersweet but satisfying story about the complex ties between mothers and daughters—often subject to strain, but nearly impossible to break.
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Read in April, 2009
Loved this book. What a great display of family relationships. I learned so much.
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Read in February, 2009
A story about three generations of women finding their strength and learning to love each other. The author did a wonderful job bringing her characters to life.
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02/14/09
Christina
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Read in March, 2009
Going Down South’s sentences, and therefore flow, is very staccato — short, choppy, rough, and jerky. The narrative also jumped around quite a bit, and there wasn’t a single character I cared about, and none of them, even Olivia Jean, stirred any feelings in what so every. I found reading it to be a very grating experience.
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Read in September, 2008
Strong characters drive the plot of this delightful novel. Three generations of strong women, each strong in a different way, interact and learn about the corrosive power of secrets. The male characters are perhaps a little stereotypical, but in the service of the plot that is understandable and as it should be. The evocations of time and place are poignant and ring true. A home run from Glover.
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