lizanne95's review against another edition
At first I didn’t really think that the book would be that interesting, but as I got further into the story, I couldn’t put it down.
I haven’t read a lot of novels where the main character was an African-American and it was a good change. I have loved reading about the slavery era since I was first introduced to it quite a few years ago, although I have to admit that it does make me blood boil in anger.
Letitia, a freed slave, is probably the strongest female character that I have read about this year. She inspired me in so many ways. She never gave up for what she thought was right even after being forced to leave her home and watch everything that she ever owned get taken away from under her feet.
This book spans over quite a number of years and the plot was well thought out to span over that amount of time.
I hope Jane Kirkpatrick decides to write more stories of this era, with African woman as the lead character. This book comes second in my favorite books on this subject, the first being Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I recommend both of these books to anyone who wants a blunt story of what really happened to slaves and how they were treated.
“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group”.
I haven’t read a lot of novels where the main character was an African-American and it was a good change. I have loved reading about the slavery era since I was first introduced to it quite a few years ago, although I have to admit that it does make me blood boil in anger.
Letitia, a freed slave, is probably the strongest female character that I have read about this year. She inspired me in so many ways. She never gave up for what she thought was right even after being forced to leave her home and watch everything that she ever owned get taken away from under her feet.
This book spans over quite a number of years and the plot was well thought out to span over that amount of time.
I hope Jane Kirkpatrick decides to write more stories of this era, with African woman as the lead character. This book comes second in my favorite books on this subject, the first being Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I recommend both of these books to anyone who wants a blunt story of what really happened to slaves and how they were treated.
“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group”.
55_sallymander's review against another edition
5.0
Letitia is a freed black woman who is in constant fear that she will lose her "free papers." She makes the second decision in her life, when she decides not to join a wagon train bound for Oregon, with her former owners. She does love the babies, but thinks that there might be something better for her, if she stays behind.
Sarah Bowman (Leticia is only allowed to call her by her first name, if they are at home, in private), demands that Leticia go with them and tries to steal Leticia's cow, Charity. Buying that cow was Leticia's first decision, wanting the milk that the cow makes. Mr. Bowman decides that they don't have time for the cow, so he makes Sarah give the cow back to Leticia.
Leticia doesn't know where she's going to live, with Charity, sleeping outside at night isn't safe for a free black woman. She goes to Davey Carson (he's the one she trusted with her money, to go buy the cow), and asks if she can let Charity out in his pens, so she can eat; if Leticia cooks and keeps house for him. She also has a job in the laundry at a hotel in town. Davey agrees, so Leticia moves in, sleeping in the pantry on a narrow cot.
Join up with Leticia and Davey and Charity, it's a wonderful story. A large part of it is based upon the true story of Letica and Davey.
Sarah Bowman (Leticia is only allowed to call her by her first name, if they are at home, in private), demands that Leticia go with them and tries to steal Leticia's cow, Charity. Buying that cow was Leticia's first decision, wanting the milk that the cow makes. Mr. Bowman decides that they don't have time for the cow, so he makes Sarah give the cow back to Leticia.
Leticia doesn't know where she's going to live, with Charity, sleeping outside at night isn't safe for a free black woman. She goes to Davey Carson (he's the one she trusted with her money, to go buy the cow), and asks if she can let Charity out in his pens, so she can eat; if Leticia cooks and keeps house for him. She also has a job in the laundry at a hotel in town. Davey agrees, so Leticia moves in, sleeping in the pantry on a narrow cot.
Join up with Leticia and Davey and Charity, it's a wonderful story. A large part of it is based upon the true story of Letica and Davey.
felinity's review against another edition
4.0
This was a slow read for me, but very worthwhile, covering a lesser-known part of history.
Restricted from owning property, seeking justice or even marrying where she wishes, Letitica becomes one of the first black pioneers. We follow her journey as a westward bound freed slave along with the rare friendships she is able to develop. Her acceptance and gentle hope keep her going, though there are many pitfalls and setbacks, not least in her marriage. Davey seems somewhat typical of his time, his oblivious assumptions and contrasting sharply with her pioneering spirit and drive to make herself a happy home despite the surrounding community. But it wasn't a bad life. Along with the grief people suffered when leaving homes, family, friends, or when death took their loved ones too early, we also see the kindnesses and unexpected loyalties. I'm not sure I could have shown her grace and fortitude, especially with a husband who kept secrets and was so dismissive of my concerns and feelings, but she was proven to be a truly remarkable woman.
The book is full of details about the plant life, sewing, bathing (and other hygiene-related activities), cooking on the move (baking in a reflector oven, for instance) stocking and loading a wagon, the hazards of the trail and the harsh rules required when traveling in a wagon train. Laura Ingalls' journeys were vivid but targeted at children so they excluded many of the challenges of travelling and minimized the dangers of rivers, canyons and waterless plains as well as the changing legalities for claims, requiring repeated re-filing, so this is a welcome read for an adult. Leticia isn't the only one suffering from prejudice either: the local Indians are more of a target than she, and even Davey's Irish background makes him somewhat questionable.
The appendix explains the fictionalized parts, mainly there to fill in gaps or to explain the why or how of a historical fact, and there's plenty of further reading for people who wish to know more.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Restricted from owning property, seeking justice or even marrying where she wishes, Letitica becomes one of the first black pioneers. We follow her journey as a westward bound freed slave along with the rare friendships she is able to develop. Her acceptance and gentle hope keep her going, though there are many pitfalls and setbacks, not least in her marriage. Davey seems somewhat typical of his time, his oblivious assumptions and contrasting sharply with her pioneering spirit and drive to make herself a happy home despite the surrounding community. But it wasn't a bad life. Along with the grief people suffered when leaving homes, family, friends, or when death took their loved ones too early, we also see the kindnesses and unexpected loyalties. I'm not sure I could have shown her grace and fortitude, especially with a husband who kept secrets and was so dismissive of my concerns and feelings, but she was proven to be a truly remarkable woman.
The book is full of details about the plant life, sewing, bathing (and other hygiene-related activities), cooking on the move (baking in a reflector oven, for instance) stocking and loading a wagon, the hazards of the trail and the harsh rules required when traveling in a wagon train. Laura Ingalls' journeys were vivid but targeted at children so they excluded many of the challenges of travelling and minimized the dangers of rivers, canyons and waterless plains as well as the changing legalities for claims, requiring repeated re-filing, so this is a welcome read for an adult. Leticia isn't the only one suffering from prejudice either: the local Indians are more of a target than she, and even Davey's Irish background makes him somewhat questionable.
The appendix explains the fictionalized parts, mainly there to fill in gaps or to explain the why or how of a historical fact, and there's plenty of further reading for people who wish to know more.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
gabs_myfullbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A Light In the Darkness tackles some heavy subject matter; racism. While I applaud the decision to shine some light on that topic, I couldn't help feeling that at times it got glossed over. I mean, this book takes place in the 1840s, a good part of it in Missouri. If you are going to have your book be about racism and use this setting, you have to give an accurate representation of how it would have been like back then. And I don't feel that it was at all times.
Davey Carson is a white man that Tish gets married to in the book. And for some reason, he tells a lot of people that they are married (even though I am pretty sure the agreement was supposed to be that it would be secret, so I don't know what he was thinking.) Marriage between a white person and a freed slave back then would not have been as accepted as this book makes it seem. Not many people said anything, in fact, aside from Davey's son. Sadly, in 1840s Missouri I am not convinced that people would care so little. That was my first on the fence moment with this book.
Secondly, though I am sure that this was just to portray the time that this book took place, I felt at times some characters made comments that I didn't necessarily agree with, and those comments were fully accepted, for the most part, rather than objected against. (That is the reason I did not like them.) Saying that certain things were 'men's work' only that a woman could not accomplish, which the women fully agreed with. Saying things that implied that a woman who had opinions and did not just blindly follow her husband was not acceptable. I understand that those were just the times back then, but it got mentioned so many times that I became uneasy.
I didn't like when the book randomly switched to Nancy and Betsy's POV, because I felt like this should have been told from Tish's view alone. There are better ways of getting to know the two other women in this story; it was rather distracting instead of adding to the book.
It seemed like after a certain point the author got bored with writing out how the story ended, and then just started to fast forward through the years. It went very fast, and I didn't like how it went from a well-thought out story to almost a textbook description of how things went down.
I liked the character of Tish a lot. She overcomes high obstacles, prejudice from other people in particular, throughout the story which was great to read about. She's smart, she's brave, and she can think for herself. It was nice to find a character who isn't weak and Mary-suish, because I'd been finding a lot of those in Christian fiction lately, which is mainly why I took a break from the genre.
I was surprised to find that this was based on a true story, however loosely. That made the story better in my eyes, because the book ends on a more inspiring note, and I was happy to find out that that was not just a fictional ending; it actually happened.
I think that A Light in the Wilderness was a nice plunge for me back into Christian fiction, though it still had its flaws. Still, the overall plot and a great main character makes this book worthwhile.
A Light In the Darkness tackles some heavy subject matter; racism. While I applaud the decision to shine some light on that topic, I couldn't help feeling that at times it got glossed over. I mean, this book takes place in the 1840s, a good part of it in Missouri. If you are going to have your book be about racism and use this setting, you have to give an accurate representation of how it would have been like back then. And I don't feel that it was at all times.
Davey Carson is a white man that Tish gets married to in the book. And for some reason, he tells a lot of people that they are married (even though I am pretty sure the agreement was supposed to be that it would be secret, so I don't know what he was thinking.) Marriage between a white person and a freed slave back then would not have been as accepted as this book makes it seem. Not many people said anything, in fact, aside from Davey's son. Sadly, in 1840s Missouri I am not convinced that people would care so little. That was my first on the fence moment with this book.
Secondly, though I am sure that this was just to portray the time that this book took place, I felt at times some characters made comments that I didn't necessarily agree with, and those comments were fully accepted, for the most part, rather than objected against. (That is the reason I did not like them.) Saying that certain things were 'men's work' only that a woman could not accomplish, which the women fully agreed with. Saying things that implied that a woman who had opinions and did not just blindly follow her husband was not acceptable. I understand that those were just the times back then, but it got mentioned so many times that I became uneasy.
I didn't like when the book randomly switched to Nancy and Betsy's POV, because I felt like this should have been told from Tish's view alone. There are better ways of getting to know the two other women in this story; it was rather distracting instead of adding to the book.
It seemed like after a certain point the author got bored with writing out how the story ended, and then just started to fast forward through the years. It went very fast, and I didn't like how it went from a well-thought out story to almost a textbook description of how things went down.
I liked the character of Tish a lot. She overcomes high obstacles, prejudice from other people in particular, throughout the story which was great to read about. She's smart, she's brave, and she can think for herself. It was nice to find a character who isn't weak and Mary-suish, because I'd been finding a lot of those in Christian fiction lately, which is mainly why I took a break from the genre.
I was surprised to find that this was based on a true story, however loosely. That made the story better in my eyes, because the book ends on a more inspiring note, and I was happy to find out that that was not just a fictional ending; it actually happened.
I think that A Light in the Wilderness was a nice plunge for me back into Christian fiction, though it still had its flaws. Still, the overall plot and a great main character makes this book worthwhile.
k_b00kish's review against another edition
3.0
Historical fiction romance set in 1800s Missouri about an African-American free woman's journey traveling to Oregon territory with her Irish lover/husband.
agenc's review against another edition
1.0
If you like this type of thing it's a great book. It's not my thing. I've heard this story so many times. It just doesn't pull me in, it just depresses me. None of the characters really interested me. I'd rather read a fictional book that's about women not taking any crap than a historically accurate one about how badly women have been treated.
ioanaisreading's review against another edition
3.0
A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick is the kind of book you have expectations of because it has a lovely cover. I've only gave it 3 stars on GoodReads.
I liked it, it wasn't bad. I most definitely enjoyed the historical parts, and the information at the end of the novel (about what happened to the main character and to her family) were one of my favourite elements of the novel. Obviously, this is based on a true story, as even the novel's blurb says.
I liked how the main character was presented. What I didn't necessarily like was the rushed feel the novel sometimes had. At times it felt like it was staggering, only to pick up the pace over the next few chapters. This is probably because the novel's aim was to present the whole life of Letitia, the main character.
This novel goes very well with the popular current tendencies of presenting books and movies that have to do with the Civil War and African Americans' rights. I personally like the emphasis it is put on these social issues.
All in all, the novel is a nice read.
I received this copy for review through the Net Galley program, from Revell publishing house, part of the Baker Publishing Group. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
I liked it, it wasn't bad. I most definitely enjoyed the historical parts, and the information at the end of the novel (about what happened to the main character and to her family) were one of my favourite elements of the novel. Obviously, this is based on a true story, as even the novel's blurb says.
I liked how the main character was presented. What I didn't necessarily like was the rushed feel the novel sometimes had. At times it felt like it was staggering, only to pick up the pace over the next few chapters. This is probably because the novel's aim was to present the whole life of Letitia, the main character.
This novel goes very well with the popular current tendencies of presenting books and movies that have to do with the Civil War and African Americans' rights. I personally like the emphasis it is put on these social issues.
All in all, the novel is a nice read.
I received this copy for review through the Net Galley program, from Revell publishing house, part of the Baker Publishing Group. All thoughts expressed here are my own.
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