This was a sad book for me but enjoyable none the less. It deals with a difficult situation and you cannot imagine how it can end well. Character development was excellent.

This book is heartbreaking as it deals with the difficult subject of slavery in the 1800's in South Carolina. It tells a story based on the Grimke sisters from Charleston who were high society ladies turned abolitionists and early feminists. I loved the story line about one of the slaves, Handful, and her mom, Charlotte and their desire to be free.

I really enjoyed reading this book. From her hard scrabble upbringing in Arkansas to living in a car junkyard in California for a month at age 16, Maya had many struggles to overcome. The most outstanding was being Black at that time in America. Her writing is beautiful.

This book was really good and I couldn't put it down. I liked the way it was told from the two perspectives of Belle and Lavinia, one a bi-racial slave and the other an indentured servant of Irish descent. There were some very sad parts but there was also hope that things would get better. I will read more by this author.

I enjoyed the book though some parts read like a text book. The best parts were about relationships, starting the clothing business and the many adventures he had. The worst parts were tedious details about climbing equipment. I loved his global vision.

Our club enjoyed reading this very informative true story of the USA's 8 man crew team and their journey to the 1936 Olympics. We learned a lot about rowing, the Univ. of Washington team and their coaches, and Hitler"s Berlin. The writing was excellent!