Historical fiction and coming of age story about Millie, a poor girl living in Mississippi in the 1930’s-1940’s with her abusive alcoholic father and depressed drug-addicted mother. She interacts with the Romany travelers that arrive each spring and longs to follow them out of town, but the responsibilities and love she feels toward her mother make it difficult to leave. Her life is further burdened by a series of tragedies.

This book is about decisions we make in life and the ramifications of those decisions. Oftentimes decisions must be made when very young and incapable of fully anticipating the consequences. It is also about the human responses to hardship and abuse. I thought the characters were well-drawn, especially the protagonist, and the writing flowed smoothly. This book contains an element of Christian theology, which was culturally appropriate for the time period in the American South. It shows both positives and negatives associated with “religious” people. I didn’t find it overbearing, but it will not be to everyone’s taste.

The primary difficulty I had with it concerned an immediate “bouncing back” from trauma. Horrible things have happened Millie and I found her actions afterward difficult to believe. I felt something was missing in helping the reader understand her responses. There were also several historical inaccuracies, especially with respect to references to WWII, which were not necessary to the plot and could have easily been omitted. Content warnings include domestic violence, rape, drug abuse, and scenes involving animals that may be disturbing to sensitive readers. ( )

Millie has had a tough life in Miss. of the 30's. Poor, Father cruel to depressed mother. She meets a Gypsy boy and it starts to turn her life around. Lot more to the story of this christian fiction book. ( )

Into the Free

A dramatically entertaining and hopeful story of a young girl who must grow up way to fast.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Millie Reynold’s longs to escape the madness that incorporates her world. Her father is abusive, and her “nothing” mother just struggles to survive. When a caravan of gypsies dance through town, Millie 16, would love nothing more than to run away with them. Millie knows she cannot abandon her mama. Instead the gypsies leave Millie with a key which unlocks generations of family secrets. When tragedy after tragedy strikes her family, Millie must find the strength to overcome her family history and figure out who she really is and what she wants. Can Millie forgive and make her way into the free?

“Oh, dear child. You’ve got a lot to learn about marriage. Any fool can choose the boy who sends her heart into a flurry. But there’s a big deep divide between desire and devotion. You better not choose the boy who makes you dizzy. No ma’am. You have to choose the one who is steady. Stable. Safe. Choose the one who loves you, through and through, for who you really are. The one who wouldn’t change a single thing about you even if he could.”

REVIEW
Millie’s favorite place high in the branches of a sweet gum tree. It serves as Millie’s lookout, so she can see beyond the misery of the shack that sits below her. The shack has leaky roof, a rickety porch and her mother who rarely gets out of bed. So Millie takes care of her, she has taken care of her for just about forever. As Millie watches a train go by in the distance she wonders what it feels like to be free.

INTO THE FREE is beautifully written with vivid descriptions of rural Mississippi in 1936. You’re going to have to hold on tight once you start this book, because it will be difficult to put down. JULIE CANTRELL has woven an intense and gut wrenching tale of a young girl who must grow up much to fast when tragedy after tragedy befalls her family.

The cast of characters are intriguing, and I particularly liked Sloth, Millie’s elderly neighbor, and Mabel, a maid that works in town. The story is about loving people for who they are and forgiving them for who they are not. I enjoyed learning more about gypsies and appreciated the research Cantrell did for that part of the story. INTO THE FREE is the first book of a two book series, the second book is When Mountains Move (2013). You are definitely going to want to read both. I do!

Three words for this book...Dramatic, entertaining and hopeful.

“Ain’t nothing more important than loving your mama. Even if you can’t understand her. Love her. That’s all you gotta do.”

“When it rains Gods be wantin’ us to sit still and take notice.”

Publisher David C. Cook
Published February 1, 2012
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com ( )

An interesting look at Mississippi life in the 1930s. Poor, gypsy and society mores and attitudes. ( )

I honestly had no idea what I was in for when I started reading. The story snuck up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I told you it'd be good." Read it... I can't say it any better than that. ( )