Helpful Score: 6
Well, well!! This book was a book that was impossible to put down, kept you wondering: What Next? Beautifully written. We see life in the 50's through the eyes of a 13 year old girl who has a mind of her own(luckily), life in the South and segregation. Highly recommend it!
Helpful Score: 4
A good coming of age novel during very tense times. I felt like I was in the living room with Jubie watching everything that happened. The book starts off with a slow, Southern amble, but then all of a sudden tragedy strikes, and it never slows down after that.
I liked how Jubie was never afraid to stand up for what she believed was right.
I did find it a bit hard to follow at times because the author (who is 71, and this is her first novel!) switches back and forth between the past and the present, but overall, I found it to be very thought provoking.
I liked how Jubie was never afraid to stand up for what she believed was right.
I did find it a bit hard to follow at times because the author (who is 71, and this is her first novel!) switches back and forth between the past and the present, but overall, I found it to be very thought provoking.
Helpful Score: 4
The Dry Grass of August is a deeply felt and powerful debut novel. It is so beautifully written that it could easily have truly happened. Anna Jean Mayhew tells more than a simple story of the South. She takes us back to the South in 1954. She tells of a time of segregation, intolerance and things unspoken.
We see these issues through the eyes, and with the heart of 13 year old Jubie, our narrator. Reaching adolescence as her family is falling apart, Jubie is forced to come to terms with things that will change everything she thought she knew about her family and the world in general.
Anna Jean Mayhew has written an important book in beautiful prose. I savoured every page. Her characters are believable and memorable. I was moved to tears by the reality of this story and the beauty in which it was told. I am humbled by this beautiful story and the author herself.
We see these issues through the eyes, and with the heart of 13 year old Jubie, our narrator. Reaching adolescence as her family is falling apart, Jubie is forced to come to terms with things that will change everything she thought she knew about her family and the world in general.
Anna Jean Mayhew has written an important book in beautiful prose. I savoured every page. Her characters are believable and memorable. I was moved to tears by the reality of this story and the beauty in which it was told. I am humbled by this beautiful story and the author herself.
Helpful Score: 3
This is a very different read. It is highly emotional, with few characters that you can really root for and those few seem to have issues that cannot be helped due to the time period of the book, it makes you embarrassed for your ancestors and your hands are tied there too. It takes a little while to read because you need to reread a few passages to find out what is going on, I feel that the author allowed you to draw your own obvious conclusions, but to me that was different as most authors let you know exactly what is going on without drawing your own conclusions. It is a troubling book about a troublling time with troubled characters. the characters were well written, I feel like I know them, I have vivid pictures in my mind of each of them. This is not another The Help, this is its own individual book filled with emotion, it should be read by all.
Helpful Score: 3
I had this book on my wishlist for a while. When I received it and read the blurbs on the back of the book, I knew it would be my next book to read. I think that might of been my downfall (reading the blurbs). I was expecting so much from this book and when the end came it just fell flat for me.
It's set back in the 50's when racial tension was high especially in the south. The story is told by Jubie, a 13 year old white girl who lives at home with her siblings, parents and her endearing black maid, Mary. The story starts off with the mom, kids and Mary going on a road trip to Florida. Throughout the trip we learn much about Jubie's family and Mary as well. We also start seeing how the racial tension seems to get worse the more south they move.
The characters are what makes this book. They hold close to your heart. The reason I didn't love this book is because I was expecting more. I really thought by the blurbs on the back that Jubie was going to do something extraordinary. Without giving anything away, she did do some great tasks but nothing that really jumped out at you. I know the "justice" that Mary received was typical at that time but was hoping that in this book it wouldn't be typical, that it would instead be something that shocked us all. So when it ended I was like "that's it?". I did enjoy the book, especially the characters, I just wanted more.
It's set back in the 50's when racial tension was high especially in the south. The story is told by Jubie, a 13 year old white girl who lives at home with her siblings, parents and her endearing black maid, Mary. The story starts off with the mom, kids and Mary going on a road trip to Florida. Throughout the trip we learn much about Jubie's family and Mary as well. We also start seeing how the racial tension seems to get worse the more south they move.
The characters are what makes this book. They hold close to your heart. The reason I didn't love this book is because I was expecting more. I really thought by the blurbs on the back that Jubie was going to do something extraordinary. Without giving anything away, she did do some great tasks but nothing that really jumped out at you. I know the "justice" that Mary received was typical at that time but was hoping that in this book it wouldn't be typical, that it would instead be something that shocked us all. So when it ended I was like "that's it?". I did enjoy the book, especially the characters, I just wanted more.
Not one of my favorites.
I read the authors interview in the back, where I learned that from idea to final draft this book took 18 years to write. What a masterpiece!
I really hated the parents of this story from the beginning, but I suppose that were were supposed to hate them. The problem is that they were just human and we do tend to judge the racism of the 50s and 60s or whatever era, and think I am so much better than those white people and the choices they make. I wonder given the same circumstances if I would have been Jubie or the Mother, Paula. The book was so well done, that you knew really you would never be a Jubie ever ever ever.
When I started reading I did wonder how this story is going to fill all these pages. What the author did is alternate with past stories and the present tragedy. So you get some background into the family, which doesnt really make you like the parents more, probably even less.
Push this book to the top of your TBR. Mine sat for a year on my bookshelf. Sad mistake.
I really hated the parents of this story from the beginning, but I suppose that were were supposed to hate them. The problem is that they were just human and we do tend to judge the racism of the 50s and 60s or whatever era, and think I am so much better than those white people and the choices they make. I wonder given the same circumstances if I would have been Jubie or the Mother, Paula. The book was so well done, that you knew really you would never be a Jubie ever ever ever.
When I started reading I did wonder how this story is going to fill all these pages. What the author did is alternate with past stories and the present tragedy. So you get some background into the family, which doesnt really make you like the parents more, probably even less.
Push this book to the top of your TBR. Mine sat for a year on my bookshelf. Sad mistake.
This was a great story, a quick read, and worth sharing. I considered naming this book to a middle school reading list with the exception of one scene (the narrator witnesses her parents having sex while hiding from them under their bed). What I especially liked about this story was its snapshot of a child's perception of her parents' flawed marriage -- a story line many can relate to.
well written coming of age story from the South in the 1950's and the brutality shown the black people.
Sad and interesting. I was expecting a little more, but found it to be a good read nonetheless. I would recommend it. There was not enough information at the end as to what happened with June's father throughout the book in my opinion. It left me wondering what the whole fuss was about him and the shed throughout the book.
What a roller coaster of emotions that you will feel reading this book. The main character stays true to herself and is learning that there are differences in the world that she does not believe in. Each character was well developed and had their own voice, adding to the layers that are taking place in this story. A very good book, makes you think, wonder, cry,laugh, get angry, and have hope. I hope this author has another story to tell.
Story is told by Jubie Watts, a white 13-year-old who becomes more acutely aware of segregation and racism in 1950s America as her family travels on vacation in the South. When inevitable tragedy strikes, it is life-changing for Jubie. Similar themes as in The Secret Life of Bees. Good read.
As I glanced at the reviews for this book I noticed that few rated it as I did. For me, this was a wonderful look at the South in the 1950s. Featuring a thirteen-year-old named June "Jubie" Watts as story teller, it reveals both the hate and love for those who served white southern families. The conflict within Jubie's family about their Negro maid is not apparent until later in the novel. Her death and the father's treatment of the black population they encounter breaks up the family. Of course, there are other circumstances which contribute to the breakup but I think that it all was uncovered at this point. With the death of the maid, a victim of cruelty by men whose hate dictates their actions, Jubie and her mother realize how close they were to Mary and what an important part of their family she had become. I think that author who was born and grew up in the segregated south certainly speaks with authority derived from her past. Such experience lends depth to a story like this. For those interested in this topic I can't help but recommend this read. It's so very good.
