The House of Eve Sadeqa Johnson

 

MY THOUGHTS

This is my first book by this author. I do own a copy of THE YELLOW WIFE and intend to read it when I get a break. 

This book is like none I have ever read. It's about two young women, one in high school and one in college, who are both black and both fighting for what they want out of life. To rise above their stations in life. To make something out of their lives. To be proud black women. 

Ruby is a high school girl who is working hard to get into college. She's in an advanced program trying to earn a scholarship that will pay her way. She's from a poor family and a mother who was very young when she had Ruby. Her mother is not very kind and seems to love her men more than her own flesh and blood. Ruby wants to be a doctor. One that can maybe help heal her grandmother who has glaucoma and is now blind. Ruby lived with her the first few years of her life. Nene was very good to Ruby. I felt for Ruby. She is a very likable young lady even when you see her making some fairly big mistakes. Like falling in love with a white Jewish boy. 

Eleanor is a college woman who is working hard to be an archivist. Her parents worked hard to make sure she could go to college. Especially her mother. They only want the best for her. She studies hard and works two jobs to pay for her education. She works in the library for one job and meets the soon to be Dr, William. William's parents are very rich and his mother does not believe that Eleanor is good enough. She's not of the right class for her son or his family. But William loves her and she loves him. 

As this story progresses you get to know each of these young ladies and more characters. Some you'll love and some you will despise. How their lives end up intersecting is sad but beautiful. This book is very well written and told in a beautiful prose. In the language of mainly poor black young ladies. The way they interact with others is enduring. I loved them both. I felt so bad for them both at times also and rooted for them to both do what they had set out to do. To have a better life and make their families proud. I think this was done. 

This author is one to look out for. I will definitely be looking for more of her books.

Thank you #NetGalley, #SadeqaJohnson, #Simon&Schuster for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5 stars and a high recommendation. Have Kleenex handy though, you will need them.

SYNOPSIS

“Amazing…These two women’s lives intersect in the most wonderful and unlikely of ways. I was completely surprised by the ending of this beautifully told and written book.” —Reese Witherspoon

“A triumph of historical fiction” (The Washington Post) set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.