This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Susan Lobban
North Carolina 1960, Jane Forrester is determined to have a career despite her new husband’s wishes. However, her dreams of becoming a social worker are nothing like the reality. After very little training, Jane is unexpectedly left to face the rural tobacco fields of Grace County alone.
Fifteen year old Ivy Hart is struggling to care for her ageing diabetic grandmother, wayward sister and her handful of a nephew. Combined with her own epilepsy, life is a constant struggle.
When Jane enters Ivy’s life she is wary, but she soon realizes that for her life to change she must let the young social worker in. Jane was told not to get emotionally involved, but she just can’t help herself.
Diane Chamberlain is an active member of Facebook, who regularly asks her readers to suggest everything from character names to new book titles! She also keeps her fans up to date with story progression. I am one of those fans so by the time this book arrived for me to review, I could not wait to see how it had all come together.
Right from the start Jane is a strong character; her husband expects her to be a housewife once they marry, but she sticks to her career goal. Additionally, in order to ensure no babies come along to halt her planned career, she goes behind his back to obtain contraceptive pills. I was on tenterhooks throughout the rest of the book to see how this deception would impact Jane’s marriage.
On the other side of the spectrum is Ivy Hart. Born into poverty and dreaming of having a family in far away California, she would love to have choices in her life, but she has none. Her sister Mary Ella has her own little boy and Ivy is fearful her sister will become pregnant again. This fear distracts her from what is really happening in her own life.Jane and Ivy may be fictional, but unfortunately the situation is not. The Eugenics Program existed between the1930s to 1960s and was government sanctioned sterilization aimed at controlling the population of the poor. So, whilst reading, this fact was always at the back of my head and made it all the more heartbreaking. As Ivy’s life went from bad to worse, my heart was wrenched and I was glad she had Jane on her side. I was fascinated to see what effect each young woman would have on the other’s life. I really hope there was at least one real life Jane out there to stand up for what was best for the people in their care.
Diane Chamberlain is a master story teller in that she takes her readers on an emotional journey where you invest in the character’s lives. I am thankful for her bringing this issue to the forefront in such a compassionate way and feel it is necessary for every woman to be aware of this piece of history.
10/10
Diane Chamberlain's Website