A disturbing, absorbing, and valuable addition to the literature of cruelty inflicted upon Indigenous peoples.
Chilton’s historical novel imagines the harrowing tale of three Virginian Patawomeck women who survived the 1666 massacre of the men of their tribe and were sold into slavery.
The small Native American Patawomeck tribe make their home in northern Virginia, near the Chesapeake. In 1666, frustrated with the tribe’s refusal to sell their land or accept the Virginia Governor’s Council’s choice for a new chief, the council chooses to respond with violence. On one summer night of that year, the Virginia militia enter the Patawomeck territory carrying their “thunder sticks” and savagely shoot every adult male in the village. They seize babies and corral the women, who are placed on a ship and sold into slavery in Barbados. Among these women are Ah’SaWei (Golden Fawn), a young mother, and her close friend, NePa’WeXo (Shining Moon). Once in Barbados, Ah’SaWei, her mother, and her daughter are sold to the Mount Faith Manor Plantation, owned by master Russell White, a Quaker. They are luckier than Xo and her daughter, who are purchased by the vicious, sexually avaricious master James Lewis of the Sugar Grove Plantation. In alternating chapters, Ah’SaWei, whose name is changed to Rebecca, and Xo, renamed Leah, narrate their tales of struggle and survival—on the ship, on the plantations, and after their triumphant return to the colonies in 1669. Packed with Indigenous culture and customs and sprinkled with tribal terminology, the narrative is vivid, magnetic, and chilling. The author is herself a Patawomeck descendant, and she’s combined scant available written records with tribal oral history to inform her creation of two emotionally powerful, vibrant female protagonists. Mixed in with the tragedies that befall these women are humorous moments, such as their descriptions of the English men: “They rarely bathe, their breath and teeth repulsive. They are hairy and filthy; they cover themselves with woven layers, fetid with sweat and dirt.” Several sections move languidly, but plenty of action, tears, cheers, and historical detail work to keep the pages turning.
A disturbing, absorbing, and valuable addition to the literature of cruelty inflicted upon Indigenous peoples.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781960573957
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Sibylline Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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