Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book was for me just a fantastic read from start to finish! It made me: 1. Horrified at times- being reminded how slaves were so badly and brutally treated back then, seeing Mattie's anger displayed in an early scene (no spoiler) that left me holding my breath and being made to remember how women were treated during this period of time too. 2. Angry at others- as when Mattie was torn from her family, including her 3 month old baby and was supposed to be pacified by being able to visit them for a few hours on a Sunday, witnessing through the young heroine's eyes the brutal rape of a young slave girl (not graphically depicted) and reading the general attitudes of people on the black/white person/non-person issues common to this time. 3. I laughed in spots and I cried in others while reading it which means for me it was a pretty darn successful story. I can't ask for much more then that from any author. Some have said that they found the book only suited for teens because parts seemed to have been written for a YA audience. My response to that is that the plot of this book revolved primarily around 2 things, us getting to watch Lisbeth grow up and her changing attitudes as the book progressed and life through the eyes of Mattie (Ma-ie). I believe these scenes that felt more YA were to give us a flavor of what it was like to grow up during this time and don't know of any other way it could have been done if some of the young girl's activities and thoughts (life on a daily basis) weren't represented. The other perspective life as seen through Mattie's eyes was more adult because she was an adult and had to grow up pretty early on because of the circumstances of her life. I wish there was a sequel to this one something I almost never say!