Catherine Gentile

This was a difficult book to read - it was full of violence and hatred. It also used a word over and over that we don't use now and every time I read this word, it was a mental jolt for me. But to put it all in perspective, this was a true depiction of what life was like in the Jim Crow era in the South in the 1930s.

Promise is a 20 year old woman who was raised by her uncle and inherited his land when he died. He had taught her that there was no difference between blacks and whites and she continued to live her life that way. Her hired hand , Fletcher as well as his mother known as Mother Hart, were also a good friend of the family. When Daffron, a cousin, returns to the farm to work, his intention is to take his father's land back from Promise. He is a cruel man who thrives on hatred between the races and he enjoys lynching black men. His main goal was to lynch Fletcher who he felt was too educated -- Fletcher actually had an offer from Harvard to study to become a doctor. Promise felt that to save Fletcher, they needed to pretend that they weren't friends but Daffron knew that Promise was friends with Fletcher and his mother and planned to punish Fetcher. This is an excellent books that contrasts Promise's view of her friends against the hatred of the Jim Crow south.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review.… (mer)