A review by hiltzmoore
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

4.0

I thought this book did a great job with painting the complex relationships that existed on plantations during the time of slavery. The deep "family" relationships that arose between the slaves were what I expected to read about, but I really loved the deep rooted history between the slaves and the slave owners. It wasn't just a standard "good guys" vs. "bad guys" that I expected, and the loyalty shown between the slaves and some of the owner family was touching and I think, fairly realistic of the time. The real "bad guys" of the book were well written. I did get a little annoyed with Lavinia's innocence into adulthood and was frustrated with her most of the time that she was an adult, but I think that was explained a little by the circumstances of her upbringing - there was even a line about how she never wanted nothing except something to love. This book is sticking with me.