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Book Review of The Kitchen House

The Kitchen House
Grnemae avatar reviewed on + 451 more book reviews


Lavinia is orphaned while crosssing from Ireland with her family. At the tender age of 6 she becomes an indentured servant to the captain of the ship. He takes her to his plantation in Virginia and turns her over to the care of Belle who works in the kitchen house. Mama Mae, Papa George, Uncle Jacob and the other children on the plantation become her family and she does not really realize that the color of their skin makes them different. As she gets older she is made to realize that she is different because she is white. She gets opportunities the rest of "her family" will never have but that does not always let her be happy.

This is a story full of love, hate, passion, cruelty, sadness, desperation and every other emotion that a disfunctional family can bring. I laughed, I cried, I cringed but am glad I read the book.