Absolutely mesmerizing read....Lavinia a young and white 7 year old orphaned...ship"s
captain James Pyke takes her to his plantation to work as an indentured servant in a kitchen
house of a tobacco plantation...all hell breaks loose when racial tension, family misunderstanding, lynching, rape, arson and murder are inevitable at Tall Oaks Plantation...
reading the sequel Glory over Everything

Beautifully narrated and touching story which has a true base in the history of slavery.
Even though it's drama, you get to make deep connection with these families of slaves who have meaningful and deep relationship among them and the compassion among them is admirable.

Having the story told by two voices makes this novel much stronger. Lavinia is 7 when she comes to the plantation as a white indentured servant with, at first, no memory of her parents' death on the trip from Ireland. Belle is a young mulatto slave, daughter of the plantation's owner, given charge over the child, to care for her and teach her to be a house servant. Lavinia comes to love the people she lives among, calling them "my family." The feeling is mutual. Mostly, the characters are very well rounded--I'd say the major exception is the overseer. On the other hand, much of what we know historically of how overseers treated slaves is exactly like this man treated the people he had power over. For me, the ending, the last few paragraphs, was a bit abrupt. I'd read the sequel first, which may be the reason for this reaction on my part. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the fast paced book, and look forward to what I suspect will be a third in the series.

I've read many similar tales, but without the indentured servant twist. Never the less, I liked it very much. It did not gloss over major problems, but rather treated them gently enough so that I was able to continue reading. Too often the graphic horror of a situation is enough to make me unable to keep on, so this was well handled, in my opinion. Well developed characters, and an interesting take on drug use.

Great book, I really enjoyed it!

I am a bit bothered by the book's melodrama and stereotypes, which kept it from being a great book. Characters lack a lot of depth, and most were either completely good or completely bad. One of the main antagonists was a character who seemed so bi-polar, but the author didn't really delve into why he was that way.

With that said, it was an easy book to pick up, with a writing style that flowed, and I enjoyed spending time with those characters who were generally pretty pleasant (I mean....who wouldn't??)

I just felt it's a story with a lot of potential had it not been so "white-washed."

I just learned there is a related novel put out--"Glory Over Everything." I do think I may try it to see if the author has developed the characters any further.

Good read! Interesting to learn about how life was back then, in that situation.

Really enjoyed this book, there is a lot to be said about this book, but what comes to mind is the amount of resiliency that is present throughout the book. Very emotionally charged at points, but a very good, and captivating read. Would highly recommend.

In 1791, seven-year-old Irish orphan Lavinia becomes an indentured servant at Tall Oaks, a tobacco plantation in Tidewater Virginia owned by Captain James Pyke. Entrusted to the care of Belle, Pyke's illegitimate and enslaved daughter, Lavinia lives and works with the slaves in the plantation's kitchen house. Eventually, she's summoned to the big house to tend to her opium-addicted mistress, a turn of events that will endanger both Lavinia and Belle. If you enjoy this compelling character-driven family saga, keep an eye out for the forthcoming Glory Over Everything: Beyond the Kitchen House, which follows the next generation.

This is a story that will stick with me for a long time. The characters are well developed and I felt their happiness and their grief right along with them. It is a story about circumstance, love, family and survival of an endentured white slave and her loving black slave family. Beautiful story. Highly recommended.