Pigs in Heaven in 100+ Books in 2025

Aug 19, 2012 Dolly rated it really liked it

Shelves: other-usa, 2013, native-american, virginia-author

This book is the sequel to The Bean Trees, which my local book club selected to read last year. I put this book on my to-read list, but only just recently got around to reading it.

Strangely enough, I also started reading Only the Names Remain: The Cherokees and The Trail of Tears by Alex W. Bealer at the same time, so I felt as though I were immersed in Cherokee history and culture this weekend.

This was a tough read for me. I kept wanting to smack Taylor for the decisions she made and I was fr ...more

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Jul 27, 2017 Nola Tillman rated it liked it

I really enjoyed The Bean Trees, but I find its sequel less engaging. I'd probably scale this up to a 3.5 if I could, but I just couldn't bring myself to round up to four.

First, what I enjoyed. The novel took a good long look at what family means, and it's not always conventional. It seems like the Cherokee people truly believe 'it takes a village,' and children don't 'belong' to a single person. Instead, they belong to the whole tribe. They're were some good quotes about love and family that I I really enjoyed The Bean Trees, but I find its sequel less engaging. I'd probably scale this up to a 3.5 if I could, but I just couldn't bring myself to round up to four.

First, what I enjoyed. The novel took a good long look at what family means, and it's not always conventional. It seems like the Cherokee people truly believe 'it takes a village,' and children don't 'belong' to a single person. Instead, they belong to the whole tribe. They're were some good quotes about love and family that I marked.

However. While that might work in a small group where everyone knows everyone, I can't say I think it's the way the government should operate. (Note that the author doesn't suggest it should, I am simply extrapolating outward.) Nor does it always work in a tight-nit community. Frankly, it didn't seem tight that Taylor stepped in where the community broke down and yet the community gets an automatic do-over. There are times for exceptions and this seems like one.

Another reviewer noted the almost pathological 'white man bad, red man good'. Perhaps because I read that before the novel, I was more sensitive to it. Even Jax, who seems like the pretty much perfect man, makes a pretty bad and selfish call (though I suppose this could extend the 'we belong to the community' idea?). All the white kids are screw ups. But even the Cherokee kids who drink and party too much respect their elders and are obedient and follow tradition.

And I really didn't like the way this ended. As a single mom, I'm well aware of the legal problems inherent in this custody 'solution,' not to mention the intrinsic unfairness. And for Pete's sake, the odds were high she would have followed the stipulations anyway.

Someone else mentioned that Taylor didn't seem like her character in The Bean Trees, but I didn't find the changes completely startling. In the first book, she started out mid-20s and solo, and let's face it, at that stage you think you know everything and you really do have nothing to lose. Three years later, she's bonded far more strongly with her daughter, plus grown more mature. Of course you can become less fearless when you have more to lose. Look how much most new parents change over the first year, and not just because of lack of sleep. So yes, she's different, but not dramatically so.

I enjoyed the book and will look for the next one (I think I remember seeing a next one), but not as much as pretty much every other Kingsolver book I've read.

PS if you're going to illegally fudge your adoption, don't go on Oprah and tell the truth. /facepalm ...more

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Jun 12, 2016 Christine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Great sequel to the Bean Trees to see how Turtle, and the mystery of her birth, progresses. Preferred the 1st book but still can't wait to see how things okay out after this book.

There's a lot of discussion in here about what it means to be Native American as well as mention as to what the US government did or did not do for NA children in the past.

Recommended, but go read The Bean Trees first! ...more

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Nov 11, 2024 Carmen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: popular-fiction

The plot is a young woman who adopts a Cherokee toddler. Later she finds out that it wasn't a legal adoption. But the subplot is a romance, an understanding of the Cherokee culture and some crazy characters. Quite interesting how the author pulled this all together. ...more

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