The Invention of Wings
Sure Monk Kidd, 2014
When Sarah Grimke turns eleven, she is given her very own slave, a girl her own age named Hetty, but called "Handful". Sarah is appalled by the gift and tries to free her slave, but her wish is denied. As Sarah grows up, she tries to find her place in the world, eventually moving north to join the abolitionist movement.
This was a very good book, and I can see why it's getting so much praise, although I didn't love it as much as many people I know did. I wasn't expecting the turn it took, as it became more a book about the abolitionist movement and less a book about the relationship between Sarah and Handful, which was what I was hoping for. But that was my own fault for not really looking into what the book was about.
I didn't know that the Grimkes were real people, but I thought that Sarah's and Nina's stories were really impressive - all the more so for being mostly true. And, despite being less based in specific fact, I liked hearing Handful's story as well. Not perfect, but certainly a good book. Glad I read it.
This was a very good book, and I can see why it's getting so much praise, although I didn't love it as much as many people I know did. I wasn't expecting the turn it took, as it became more a book about the abolitionist movement and less a book about the relationship between Sarah and Handful, which was what I was hoping for. But that was my own fault for not really looking into what the book was about.
I didn't know that the Grimkes were real people, but I thought that Sarah's and Nina's stories were really impressive - all the more so for being mostly true. And, despite being less based in specific fact, I liked hearing Handful's story as well. Not perfect, but certainly a good book. Glad I read it.
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