Show Me 5 Saturday – The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

a meme by That’s A Novel Idea

now at Find Your Next Book Here

1. Book title: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

2. Words that describe the book: Historical fiction

3. Settings or characters:

* Tall Oaks plantation owned by Captain James Pyke

* Lavinia McCarten, orphaned on the voyage from Ireland to America and taken home with the Captain to live at Tall Oaks.

* Belle Pyke, daughter of Captain Pyke who lives in the kitchen house because her mother was black. Lavinia lives with Belle.

4. Things I liked/disliked about the book:

* I liked that the story was told from the perspectives of Lavinia and Belle.

* I thought the story was completely enthralling

* I thought the book wrapped up a bit too quickly

* I’d love to read a sequel (which is a sign of a good story)

5. Stars or less: 4/5 stars

From the back of the book:

Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction, Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.

(giveaway win from Passages to the Past)