One of the perks of having a blog is that I often get offers of books to read for review. Recently I said yes to receiving a book that intrigued me – The Honey Tree by Jo Sparkes. The description on the jacket of the book drew me in from the beginning:
Maggie has always accepted life’s constraints: that is, until she witnesses a breathtaking moment of liberation as a butterfly breaks free from a spider’s web. And this small, defiant act sparks a fire within her soul.
That’s a dangerous thing for a field slave in 1850 Missouri.
As her daughter ascends to the coveted position of personal maid to the Mistress, Maggie’s family is thrust into the intricate dynamics of power and privilege within the House.
But in the shadows, a chance encounter between Maggie’s sons and Preacher, a burly, escaped slave, sets the stage for a risky alliance.
Meanwhile, Lucy, the Master’s lonely daughter, hungers for the warmth and kindness that Maggie effortlessly exudes. The boundaries that separate them are as rigid as the times they live in, but the desire for connection and understanding defies the odds.
Maggie, recognizing an opportunity for freedom, finds herself entwined in a perilous dance between liberation and the relentless pull of her current station.
Will she follow in the path of the butterfly?
When I agreed to receive a copy of this book and read and review it, I must admit I was hopeful that the dark subject of slavery would not be overwhelming. It truly is a horrific part of the past of our country and I quite honestly do not usually seek out books to read that deal with subjects that are as traumatizing as slavery. What I found after reading The Honey Tree by Jo Sparkes was hope. The author truly crafted a story that left me smiling and filled with a sense of hope. How on earth was she able to do that?
The story centers around some beautiful characters who live as enslaved blacks on a plantation filled with all of the atrocities of those days. Beatings and having no worth were the norm and. while I am sure this was the case everywhere for the enslaved people, somehow this group was able to endure and find the courage to seek freedom for themselves.
I think what I loved most about this book were the characters who were created and developed so well that the reader felt that they were indeed part of the family. From Maggie to Honey to Preacher, each of these characters were life sized and by the end of the book I was filled with a sense of knowing each of them for the courageous and independent persons that they were.
The story is about more than enslavement. It is about the dynamics of living in that time but it is so much more. It is about compassion and hope and the yearning for more. It is about independence and how important that is in any life . The ending had a bit of a surprise and I appreciated that and loved how the author wrapped up the entire journey for the reader.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this novel. I would recommend it to anyone who is seeking a story of hope and the strength of the human spirit. If you are interested in a copy of your own you can purchase this book in a number of places including this link that leads to the Amazon listing.
