Book Review: Yellow Crocus

Image from goodreads.com

Title:  Yellow Crocus
Author:  Laila Ibrahim
Pages:  240
Publication Date:  2010
Version:  E-Book (got free off of amazon.com)
Genre:  Fiction

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family ‘owned’ her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her some day. This is our story... 

So begins Lisbeth Wainwright’s compelling tale of coming-of-age in antebellum Virginia. Born to white plantation owners but raised by her enslaved black wet nurse, Mattie, Lisbeth’s childhood unfolds on the line between two very different worlds. Growing up under the tender care of Mattie, Lisbeth adopts her surrogate mother’s deep-seated faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring. In time, Lisbeth realizes she has freedoms and opportunities that Mattie does not have, though she’s confined by the societal expectations placed on women born to privilege. As Lisbeth grows up, she struggles to reconcile her love for her caregiver with her parents’ expectations, a task made all the more difficult as she becomes increasingly aware of the ugly realities of the American slavery system. When Lisbeth bears witness to a shockingly brutal act, the final vestiges of her naiveté crumble around her. Lisbeth realizes she must make a choice, one that will require every ounce of the courage she learned from her beloved Mattie. This compelling historical novel is a richly evocative tale of love, loss, and redemption set during one of the most sinister chapters of American history."

My Review:
This book is an amazing tale of a young woman who is a slave on a plantation.  Her name is Mattie.  The story starts about 3 months after she has had her son, Samuel and progresses all the way to when Samuel is in his twenties.  Mattie, due to just having had her son, has milk to feed him.  This may seem like a good thing, but this is what changes Mattie’s life forever.  Because she has milk still in her breasts she is called in to the white owners’ house late one night to take over as the wet nurse for the woman of the house when she has her first baby.  Mattie is to now live in the house caring for this new baby instead of her own baby.  The tale takes the reader through the growing up of the little girl and how she attaches to Mattie in a way that is “not proper” in the South at that time.  The little girl, Elizabeth, has deep feelings for Mattie and sees her as a person, not just a slave.  She is told her feelings are wrong and to stop them.  As Elizabeth grows Mattie is allowed to make visits to the slave lands outside to see her family and friends once a week.  This gives Mattie the chance to still see and have a relationship with her son.  As Elizabeth gets older and is in school she teaches Samuel the things she is learning in school and teaches Mattie how to writer her name.  This is forbidden, but Elizabeth doesn't know any better and is happy to be teaching them.  As the book progresses bad things happen and Samuel is sold and Mattie is beside herself.  Elizabeth tries to help, but is too young to understand the ways of her family.  Eventually Samuel goes missing along with his Father from another plantation.  Mattie is taken to be questioned about what she knows of the runaways.  Eventually Mattie decides, after having her second baby (a girl), to run too.  She knows where her husband and son probably are, they always made plans for if they could run away, where they would go…to Ohio, the free state.  When Jordan, Mattie’s little girl, is big enough Mattie makes the decision and has the chance to run to freedom.  It is a MUCH longer and harder journey than she imagined though.  Will Mattie make it to freedom?  If she does, will she find her family and be able to keep her daughter alive on the journey?  And what about Elizabeth, what will happen to her?  Will Elizabeth forget Mattie and just go along with her family’s ways about slaves?

I can not even begin to describe this book in a way that does it justice.  There is so much that happens in this book and so much that makes you think about the way of the South back then (1800s is when this book is set).  I was drawn into the setting and fell in love with the gentle, yet brave and strong character of Mattie.  I also loved Elizabeth, and how you got to “see” her grow up into a wonderful young woman through the book.  I started this book one day and the next day was up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it.  It just amazed me and drew me in.  I could not put it down.  The writing was wonderful, the language just right for the characters.  The story just flowed without seam until the end, where you were left feeling satisfied and with a sense of calm, yet wonder.  The book depicts the way a slave was made to live and how they were treated.  How they yearned for freedom, even if it meant running away and risking being caught again and punished.  Yellow Crocus was a wonderfully written book that tugged at my heart strings and made me thankful for change.  This book was fiction, but it had a lot of non-fiction base to it I would say.  The situations of the characters throughout the book is phenomenal and there is no way, as a reader, you won’t get drawn in and have feelings for the characters and what is happening in the plot.

5/5 Stars!  AMAZNIG book!

Counts toward the following challenges:  100 Books, 1,000,000 Pages Read, A to Z Title Challenge, Color Coded Challenge, Scavenger Hunt 2012, and Why Buy The Cow Challenge.