This story of a young slave girl/woman is riveting. The main character, Moinette is strong, smart and engaging. The extent to which slaves were suppressed is evident. The fact that humans could be sold at the whim of the owner and separated from their mothers and children is heart rending. This happened more than once and still Moinette strove to learn to read and write, earn a bit of money (all of these being forbidden) and reunite with her son. All in all, an engaging, well written story.

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Moinette is born south of New Orleans to a slave mother as a mulatresseshe is half white and half black. Since her mothers slave labor consists largely of laundry and also due to her looks, Moinette spends her life serving predominantly within the white homes instead of the fields, which is a dangerous location. She also spends her life striving to be free and to save her family.

Straight manages to depict the aching despair and struggles of those enslaved while simultaneously not demonizing anyone and making Moinette highly relatable. She is an intelligent woman in an impossible situation, and her life story is gut-wrenching.

I do feel, however, that Straight rushed the story a bit toward the end. Significant events like deaths of certain people in Moinette's life feel rushed over. I wanted the book to last longer and be more in-depth in the end than it was.

Overall, this is a powerful book that takes an unflinching look at the impact slavery had on black women. Recommended, particularly to fans of historic fiction.

Check out my full review.

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