3.7 out of 4.

Talk about a powerful pair of sisters!

This book takes place in the early 1800s in Charleston, South Carolina. The reader is introduced to Hetty “Handful” Grimke, who is known for her yellow eyes and her tough exterior. She is a slave that isn’t afraid to say how she feels. She learned this type of attitude from her mother Charlotte. Both of their dreams were to escape from the suffocating household that they work for and be free to be themselves. Unfortunately, during this time period the Carolinas were one of the worst places for them to be captured and sold into because of the strict laws born there.

When Handful is about eleven years old she becomes the specific maid to Sarah Grimke who is also a pre-teen. Although they share the same last name that is about all that Sarah’s mother and father would like for them to have in common. They stress that Sarah must have a slave at her disposal  and that she cannot treat her as a friend. It is just the way that God intended it.

To everyone’s surprise, including Handful, Sarah does not listen to her parents and begins a friendship with her slave that will last over thirty years.

This story is about empowerment in so many different aspects; gender, family, color, and religion. Quite a topic to try to get across to the readers but Kidd does a FABULOUS job.

It had so much heartache laced within it but in the end all I felt was pride. I believe when that happens it means that I have taken away the author’s mission. To educate, enlighten, and to remember.