This year I’ve challenged myself to read fifty books. This is no easy task for a slow reader, especially since so many other things distract me. Through this blog, I’ll share the books I’m reading and keep myself on track. Please feel free to offer suggestions of books you’ve enjoyed!
Book Number:31
Queen Sugar
by
Natalie Baszile
When her father leaves her an 800-acre sugarcane farm in Louisiana recently widowed Charley Bordelon sees it as an opportunity to start a new life. She and her eleven-year-old daughter, Micah, leave their middle-class lifestyle in California and move in with Charley’s grandmother, Miss Honey. She soon learns that the farm has been mismanaged and the odds of producing a profitable crop are heavily against her. Micah has a hard time adjusting to the move and blames her mother. Charley has to fight discrimination, lack of funds, and the weather in order to put the farm in working order. When her older brother arrives, he brings a young son and a whole load of trouble with him.
The story is rich in details about sugar farming, family relationships, life in the south, hope and despair. Natalie Baszile is a fine writer whose attention to detail is wonderful to read. She evokes strong feelings for each of her characters, appeals to all the senses, examines human conditions, and tells a powerful story.
I recommend this book to everyone.
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