I love a good full circle and that's exactly what this book was. The author took her time developing these characters and you got to actually see them shift and change and grow, which was just really beautiful. Freedom and forgiveness were two big themes in this and it was inspiring to read about.

My favorite quote from the book: "If we could figure out what God was doing, wouldn't that make Him pretty small? Do you really want to serve a God that small?" ( )

While I enjoyed the book, I found that it was a little too long. ( )

Another great book by Lynn Austin! She truly brings her characters to life. I loved the main character Kitty (Anna) and her story brought tears to my eyes.
Anna is raised alongside her owners daughter Claire. Her parents had been killed by white slave owners. Claire is not nice to Anna, even renaming her Kitty. Kitty is very submissive because she doesn't want to be a field slave.
Grady is ripped away from his mother and sold to a slave trader. As a result, he harbors much hatred towards white people. This hatred grows with each master he has. He is won by a gentler man, Fletcher but his anger is not quenched.
The war begins and Claire gets married. Her husband owns several plantations. It just so happens that he's the one who owns Grady. Grady likes Anna but is disgusted with how she let's Claire treat her. Claire wants to have a baby and insists that Anna get pregnant. Grady agrees to marry her in name only to protect her. Anna finds herself falling in love with Grady but he refuses to open his heart to her because she won't stand up to Claire. Grady runs away and joins the negro army. He meets a man, Joseph who tries to share God's word with him. Grady hardens his heart. When the war is won, Grady goes to find Anna. To his surprise, he finds out that he has a son. They struggle to live as neither of them has ever needed money before. Anna sells drawings to the newspaper. Grady wants to go to Virginia to see his mother. Once there he confronts his father, a white man. He finally releases his anger. His father gives him a pouch full of gold coins. Grady walks away, a truly free man. ( )

54700

I’ve been wanting to read this book for ages, but never quite got around to pulling it off the shelf and getting into it! I’m sorry now that I put it off so long—what a great story!

I sympathized with Kitty’s plight as soon as I started this story. Her desire for love, acceptance, and appreciation were things I could understand, although I’ve been blessed to have a happy home life and family in a way she never was. Learning about what happened to Grady was heart-wrenching, especially as I remember reading about him in the first book in this series. Although I can’t say any part of this book was particularly beautiful (although there were some beautiful places in the story), the themes of choosing forgiveness over hatred and learning to stand up for what is right and find our identity in Christ were all profound and well done.

Of all the stories in this series, I think this one was the most hard-hitting for me. Parts of it were absolutely brutal to read, but even while I was reading them, I was applauding the author for showing life as it likely really was for slaves before the Civil War. This is a beautiful piece of historical fiction, and it also has a strong faith element in it. If you enjoy books with rich characters, strong history, and deep faith, I’d recommend this one. ( )