i thought it was beautiful. intense, yes, but it's an integral part of the story. we say, kids shouldn't be exposed to such strong violence, etc, but in my opinion, that's the very reason WHY sethe did what she did. so her children would't have to experience what she did. and they would have experienced it in real true life, not by reading it off a page in the comfort of a safe, secure living room. i was sixteen when i read this book a year ago, and what i remember of it was a poignant story of family relationships and coming of age.

That people would call this 'trash'. Right, it's certainly not appropriate for children, that's obvious. Slavery was terrible, and vicious, and it is described accuratly in this book. Should we just gloss over that point in history because it seems 'too cruel' or 'sick'? It was. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be informed of it. And this book does just that.

its a good book that has lessons in history and is important to show that not all violence was whites killing blacks and it shows that everyone deserves a second chance

I just got done reading after this review. All overall, it was a great book. At times I couldn't take some of its nature and I really wanted to put it down though. It's like a not-sugarcoated, not-textbook like version of slavery. It was quite intense, but maturity is needed to read this book. Anyone over 16, I'd say.

This is for: bieber_fever55 You might be feelin that the book is just "another outlet to blame whites." Now, obviously racial blame games happen from every race at every angle, and probably always will until the day race no longer exists. But trust me, it's not in this book. The cruelty that exists in its pages is mostly familial. And seriously, do people read a Holocaust memoir and then huff that it's just another way to blame Germans? If you felt an implied BLAME on whites based on a fictional black slavery book, it's because whites were to blame--maybe less so as time progresses but ESPECIALLY then. I think your letting your hurt feellings get the best of you, but your words can be hurtful. And im not trying to judge you or anything but you did hurt my feelings.