The Kitchen House in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jan 19, 2012 Gina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: african-american, literary-fiction, books-i-own-read, addiction, 2013, self-actualization, published-2000-s, relationships, friendship, suspense

Goodreads Description- When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is Goodreads Description- When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

This book extraordinary! It is engrossing and heart wrenching. I cannot believe that this book is the work of a debut author. If this is what Kathleen Grissom starts out with then I cannot wait to find out what she can do next.

This is the story of Lavinia, who, at the age of 7, has lost her parents at sea when her family was crossing the Atlantic leaving Ireland to find a new life in America. Lavinia soon becomes an indentured servant and is put in the Kitchen House of a large plantation with other slaves who soon become her new family. The book is told in alternating viewpoints. Lavinia who seems like the weaker of the two narrators just can't figure out the difference between her "whiteness" and her new family's "colored" skin and why it would mean such a difference in treatment. She finds comfort with both the Kitchen House slaves and in their children. She is often put to task to help out in the big house and to help mind the younger slave children. The other narrator is Belle who become Lavinia's mother figure throughout the book. Belle is much more grounded in the reality of their situation and often tries to protect Lavinia from the harsh truth of slavery and their masters and mistresses.

Grissom has done an exceptional job portraying the awfulness of slavery and how they were treated without going into the terrible detail that she could have gone into with all of the beatings, rapes, and terrible treatment that the slaves underwent. However her story definitely still portrays the evils of slavery even though she avoided going into detail of the horrific things that were happening to the slaves. Grissom has also clearly done her homework on the differing social status's of the house slaves and the field slaves, the slaves meager ways of living and trying to maintain a happy home, despite their miserable treatment, detailing descriptions of marriages and holidays. She also goes into detail about what food were prepared at the time and the games the children played to pass the time.

Sometimes I had to put down this book because the events that took place were so emotional that I just had to take a break. Even so I was eager to get back to reading to see what would happen next. This was a real tear jerker but a fantastic novel about the darkness and evil that existed for African Americans during the days of slavery. I highly recommend this book. 5 stars! ...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned, 5-star

The story of a white orphan girl sold to a southern plantation owner and raised by the slaves he owns. She grows up to love them as a family and as she becomes an adult, opportunities arise for her because of the colour of her skin. She has to make some difficult choices and she does the best she can to try to keep her family safe.

I really loved this book and was held captive the whole way though, but holy crap, the drama! I can't see myself re-reading it because all the emotions a book like th ...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Rusty rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

The story is told by Lavinia, an orphan taken into a southern family, and Belle, a daughter of the plantation owner, and one of his slaves. However, I found myself most drawn to Lavinia. As I often do, I read the author's notes prior to starting. Lavinia is of Irish descent, had two brothers, and lost her parents and younger brother en route to this country. She seems very bright but needs affection so much. As she begins to remember her family, I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Her tender ...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Colleen rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, drama, audiobook

Varying POV that MADE SENSE! (sorry, but that had been lacking in a couple books I'd read recently). Using a distinct narrative voice for each point of view makes the story so much more engaging and easy to follow.

The story itself was engaging and the characters drew the reader in. ...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Elle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, 5-star-reads

I couldn't wait to get back to this book every time I had to put it down. The topic is dark, but it is so well done that I just loved it. Highly recommended. ...more

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