{"id":1598372,"date":"2020-05-18T17:06:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T21:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/?p=1598372"},"modified":"2020-05-20T13:55:23","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T17:55:23","slug":"divine-reads-call-your-daughter-home-by-deb-sprea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/en\/divine-reads-call-your-daughter-home-by-deb-sprea\/","title":{"rendered":"DIVINE Reads: Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Sprea"},"content":{"rendered":"

About the Book<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude\u2019s aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home.<\/p>\n

These three women seemingly have nothing in common, yet as they unite to stand up to injustices that have long plagued the small town, they find strength in the bond that ties women together. Told in the pitch-perfect voices of Gertrude, Retta, and Annie, Call Your Daughter Home is an emotional, timeless story about the power of family, community, and ferocity of motherhood.<\/p>\n

The Review\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Deb Sprea has been the executive producer of shows including \u201cCriminal Minds\u201d and \u201cArmy Wives\u201d.\u00a0 This visual sensibility is translated through the pages of her debut novel<\/a>, \u201cCall Your Daughter Home\u201d.\u00a0 Her writing is so descriptive, that you can feel the humidity coming off of the swamps in South Carolina.\u00a0 You will swear that you are caught up in a hurricane.\u00a0 Every word conjures up an image.\u00a0 Each character serves a purpose in driving the story forward.\u00a0 It brings a human side to a story that could have easily descended into traditional Southern Gothic.<\/p>\n

Branchville is a real place that Sprea visited as a youth \u2013 don\u2019t skip the background at the end of the book.\u00a0 It will give you a deeper understanding of the story development. \u00a0The book is based on fact \u2013 there was a boll weevil invasion that killed the cotton industry in the South. \u00a0It threw the region into a depression prior to the Great Depression and sets the stage for the action in the novel.<\/p>\n

The three main characters are separated by class, but united by strength, and in the end a greater purpose. They rely on each other in ways that will surprise the reader by the end of the story.<\/p>\n

Gertrude is a battered wife living in poverty who has to take drastic action to save herself and her children.\u00a0 Annie owns \u201cThe Sewing Circle\u201d \u2013 a business woman in a time when women were just gaining the right to vote.\u00a0 She lives on a plantation with her husband, Edwin, maintaining the pretenses of a privileged life without the finances to back it up.\u00a0 Retta, the daughter of slaves, works for Annie and Edwin, the very family who once \u201cowned\u201d her parents. She is the only one of the three women who enjoys a great love story.\u00a0 Her life isn’t perfect, however, she is still haunted by the tragic death of her daughter.\u00a0 Her relationship with her husband Odell, is a beacon of light in a dark novel.\u00a0 Her fear of losing him drives everything that she does.<\/p>\n

The tragedy and trauma in this book come across as vividly real.\u00a0 The strength that each woman finds both within herself and because of the relationship with each other is inspiring.\u00a0 Retta becomes the conduit to redemption in a surprising way, and is the heart of the book. Gertrude and Annie are not to be ignored either.\u00a0 Each woman gets her due in the end.\u00a0 As sad as this book was, it was a story that I wished would never end.\u00a0 It was that good.\u00a0 Pick up this book<\/a> if you are looking for a story to get lost in.<\/p>\n

Favourite Line From the Book<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This perfectly described the relationship that formed between Annie and Gertrude.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t talk much, but the Missus don\u2019t mind. I feel like we\u2019ve had whole conversations.\u00a0 We just don\u2019t use words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About the Book It\u2019s 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her…<\/div>\n
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