It is time to revel the GingerScraps book club selection for May, 2015!

Our May 2015 book is…. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.

From Amazon the description of this book is as follows,

“In this gripping New York Times bestseller, Kathleen Grissom brings to life a thriving plantation in Virginia in the decades before the Civil War, where a dark secret threatens to expose the best and worst in everyone tied to the estate.

Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food, while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family.

In time, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, caring for the master’s opium-addicted wife and befriending his dangerous yet protective son. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves.

Through the unique eyes of Lavinia and Belle, Grissom’s debut novel unfolds in a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of class, race, dignity, deep-buried secrets, and familial bonds.”

Here is what others are saying about The Kitchen House

“Forget Gone with the Wind . . . a story that grabs the reader and demands to be devoured. Wow.” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

“To say Kathleen Grissom’s The Kitchen House is a page-turner wouldn’t do it justice . . . Grissom breaks away from the gate at a fast clip, the reader hanging on for the ride.” (Durham Herald-Sun)

“A gripping tale of the South during the days of slavery. . . . Kathleen Grissom’s first novel explores the well-known side of the dark world of slavery as well as the not-so-well-known world of white slavery, or indentured servitude. The book is written in a manner that is fast-paced and action packed, making it difficult to put down.” (Bookreporter.com)

“You will be thrilled by this intimate and surprising story that connects us with an unexpected corner of our history. Kathleen Grissom gives us a new and unforgettable perspective on slavery and families and human ties in the Old South, exploring the deepest mysteries of the past that help define who we are to this day.” (Robert Morgan, Bestselling author of the Oprah Book Club selection Gap Creek)

“Kathleen Grissom peers into the plantation romance through the eyes of a white indentured servant inhabiting the limbo land between slavery and freedom, providing a tale that provokes new empathy for all working and longing in The Kitchen House.” (Alice Randall, Author of The Wind Done Gone and Rebel Yell)

I hope my fellow book lovers join us in the GingerScraps forum to discuss The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.

It is time to revel the GingerScraps book club selection for April, 2015!

Our April 2015 book is…. Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall.

From Amazon the description of this book is as follows,

“In the summer of 1963, nine-year-old Starla Claudelle runs away from her strict grandmother’s Mississippi home. Starla’s destination is Nashville, where her mother went to become a famous singer, abandoning Starla when she was three. Walking a lonely country road, Starla accepts a ride from Eula, a black woman traveling alone with a white baby. Now, on the road trip that will change her life forever, Starla sees for the first time life as it really is—as she reaches for a dream of how it could one day be.”

Here is what others are saying about Whistling Past the Graveyard

“A coming-of-age story as well as a luminous portrait of courage and the bonds of friendship. . . Susan Crandall tells young Starla’s story with pitch-perfect tone, evoking 1963 Mississippi and its struggles with a deft hand. I laughed and cried at Starla’s keen observances of life and family and the sometimes blurred edges of justice. Like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, Whistling Past the Graveyard is destined to become a classic.” (New York Times bestselling author Karen White)

“Crandall delivers big with a coming-of-age story set in Mississippi in 1963 and narrated by a precocious 9-year-old…Young Starla is an endearing character whose spirited observations propel this nicely crafted story.” (Kirkus)

“Starla’s fiery independence makes her a likable narrator.” (Publishers Weekly)

“A delightfully complex story about defying the odds to find the gifts we have tucked inside us.” (Shelf Awareness)

“This is a work of imagination in the mind of a 9-year-old child that might remind you of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird or Kathryn Stockett’s The Help… It’s a real winner!” (Liz Smith The Chicago Tribune)

“A luminous portrait of courage and the bonds of friendship, this coming of age story is as endearing and spirited as they come.” (Shape Magazine)

“This coming-of-age story is a must for fans of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help or Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird.” (Working Mother Magazine)

“It’s not easy to keep such a young narrator convincing for more than 300 pages… Readers will take to Starla and be caught up in her story.” (Mary Ellen Quinn Booklist)

“Crandall threads historical detail throughout the book as the struggles of the civil rights movement are vividly portrayed…Crandall’s young narrator captures the reader’s heart.” (Library Journal)

I hope my fellow book lovers join us in the GingerScraps forum to discuss Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall.