Summer Book Review #3: The Dry Grass of August

I just finished another novel and it was a GREAT one!!

At first, when I saw it at the towne library, I thought it was just another author trying to do a copycat version of The Help.  Yes, it is set in the Deep South. Yes, it is about segregation and the horrors of the 1950s in the southern states.  BUT..the story is different.  And it's powerful.  Gripping. Dramatic in most spots.  Sad in so many. Happy in other moments.  An all-around great story.

STORY SUMMARY

The setting takes place between 2 places:  Charlotte, North Carolina and a small town in Florida.  It is the year 1954 although throughout the story, the main character, 13 year old Jubie Watts, goes back in time to fill in the reader with parts of her early childhood years.

In August of 1954, her mom and 3 siblings leave for an uncle's home in Florida.  They take their "girl" (a black maid/nanny) with them.  Her name is Mary Luther.  Jubie has a lifetime of memories with Mary who has done all their cooking, cleaning and Mary is the adult who is there for Jubie during her father's drunken rages and her mom's neglect.  Mary loves Jubie with an unconditional love.

Jubie is smart and curious and notices many anti-integration signs on their way from NC to Florida.  Many racial tensions build on their trip south.  She and her sister end up facing a horrible tragedy and Jubie needs to face her parents' failures, their limitations, and their ignorance.  Jubie takes stock of where her own convictions lie and she makes a huge leap into independence.

What happens down in Florida??  Why is Leesum so important in Jubie's life?  Is her mom really a racist?  Is her dad really at fault with the outcome of their lives?

My Thoughts

Excellent book!  This book has intense moments depicting the times of that horrible era (the 1950s south). It actually made me so thankful to be a North Easterner!  It's a book about hope, heartbreak, love and courage. 

I found myself cheering Jubie on. I found myself utterly disgusted with her father and felt nothing but "wow....pathetic" towards her mother. Although....the mother, so common in that era, and even today I fear, was "stifled" by playing the role of the tradtional wife.....kept under her husband's thumb so to speak. I LOVED Mary right away. And the siblings....just precious characters. It left me with such a good feeling...and wanting more about what happens to Jubie and her siblings.  Does Mom ever get it together? I think she would!!

I believe this book is appropriate for ages 13 and older but due to some graphic content (a violent scene that sadly, was all too real in the southern states at that time) I would recommend that parents read it first before allowing a child under the age of 17 to read it.  Just because of the nature of the plot. It is NOT a violent book nor is there bad language but...one section does get a little disturbing...but only because of the horrors against blacks.

On a scale of 1- 10 with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.