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micheledawn1975's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second book I've read by this author and I loved it. I read the first, The Funeral Dress, just a couple weeks ago and loved it so much I sought out others. These two books were so much better and had so much more depth than their respective synopses lead you to believe. The subject matter is very emotional. I loved Bezellia as a character, she was fantastic. She grew up in the most dysfunctional of families but managed to save herself and her sister. I highly recommend this book and will be reading more by this author.
howifeelaboutbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Another great Southern novel from Gilmore, with a little more grit than Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen. Bezellia belongs to a well-known Southern family, so a lot of things are expected of her. Instead, she falls in love with the hired help, who happens to be black. More tough issues are tackled in this book, and there is not a happy ending, but the flash forwards scattered throughout work great as hints to what happens when the book ends.
acschaffer's review against another edition
4.0
This is a coming of age story set in the 1960's. Bezillia Grove rebels against her dysfunctional upper class Southern family and falls for a black boy. This is fast-moving book touches on conflicts between race, class and generations. I loved it!
lrimerman's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the characters in this book. I liked the plots too, their were twists & turns all along but I felt the ending could have explained what happened more, I felt it left some issues & characters hanging who you were invested in! Great book and I really enjoyed it.
pollyedwards's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this story. It's a good read all the way through, and it kept me interested, but it's not the caliber of "The Help." Still, I'd look for other books by this author.
cpriley401's review
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emstarlight's review against another edition
2.0
Depressing. Quick read, and I couldn't put it down.. but just not an uplifting book at all.
maryoliverdisciple's review against another edition
4.0
*ATTENTION* Spoilers contained in this review. (Albeit, slightly obvious ones, contextually speaking.)
If someone decided to write a novel based on the song 'Society's Child' by Janis Ian, I think it would be very much like this book.
All I have to say is, I appreciated the ending - it was real. It didn't try to pretend that everything works out if you love someone enough.
Actually, I was vacillating between 3 or 4 stars and the ending finally decided it for me. (Is it strange that I would have liked it less had it ended happily?)
If someone decided to write a novel based on the song 'Society's Child' by Janis Ian, I think it would be very much like this book.
All I have to say is, I appreciated the ending - it was real. It didn't try to pretend that everything works out if you love someone enough.
Actually, I was vacillating between 3 or 4 stars and the ending finally decided it for me. (Is it strange that I would have liked it less had it ended happily?)
jbott27's review against another edition
4.0
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I wasn't a fan of the ending. Something just felt unfinished and I had hoped for a different outcome.
inkwitchery's review against another edition
3.0
THE IMPROPER LIFE OF BEZELLIA GROVE by Susan Gregg Gilmore
A charming coming of age story set in the 1960s. Bezellia Grove grows up within an affluent family in Nashville Tennessee. While her physician father is busy at work and her emotionally abusive, alcoholic mother cares more about her social life, Bezellia and her sister Adelaide have come to rely on their nanny Maizelle and handyman Nathaniel for familial love and support.
Once Bezellia develops feelings for Nathaniel’s son Samuel, she begins to see the glaring differences between class, status and skin color within the uppity society and community in they live in.
This is one of those stories that has been repeated time and time again; forbidden love, a clash of two cultures etc. While it’s a good story with an interesting premise and characters, there just wasn’t anything special or specific enough to make it stand out from other books in this genre.
Rating: 3/5 ⭐️
A charming coming of age story set in the 1960s. Bezellia Grove grows up within an affluent family in Nashville Tennessee. While her physician father is busy at work and her emotionally abusive, alcoholic mother cares more about her social life, Bezellia and her sister Adelaide have come to rely on their nanny Maizelle and handyman Nathaniel for familial love and support.
Once Bezellia develops feelings for Nathaniel’s son Samuel, she begins to see the glaring differences between class, status and skin color within the uppity society and community in they live in.
This is one of those stories that has been repeated time and time again; forbidden love, a clash of two cultures etc. While it’s a good story with an interesting premise and characters, there just wasn’t anything special or specific enough to make it stand out from other books in this genre.
Rating: 3/5 ⭐️