From the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees, a magnificent novel about two unforgettable American womenHetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.
Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.
As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.
Meet Bingo, the greatest drug runner in the slums of Kibera, Nairobi, and maybe the world. A teenage grifter, often mistaken for a younger boy, he faithfully serves Wolf, the drug lord of Kibera. Bingo spends his days throwing rocks at Krazi Hari, the prophet of Kibera’s garbage mound, “lipping” safari tourists of their cash, and hanging out with his best friend, Slo-George, a taciturn fellow whose girth is a mystery to Bingo in a place where there is never enough food. Bingo earns his keep by running “white” to a host of clients, including Thomas Hunsa, a reclusive artist whose paintings, rooted in African tradition, move him. But when Bingo witnesses a drug-related murder and Wolf sends him to an orphanage for “protection,” Bingo’s life changes and he learns that life itself is the “run.”
A modern trickster tale that draws on African folklore, Bingo’s Run is a wildly original, often very funny, and always moving story of a boy alone in a corrupt and dangerous world who must depend on his wits and inner resources to survive.
When Deborah Samson disguised herself as a man and joined the Continental Army, she wasn’t just fighting for America’s independence—she was fighting for her own. Revolutionary, Alex Myers’s richly imagined and meticulously researched debut novel, brings the true story of Deborah’s struggle against a rigid colonial society back to life—and with it the courage, hope, fear, and heartbreak that shaped her journey through a country’s violent birth.
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| Alex Myers |
After years as an indentured servant in a sleepy Massachusetts town, chafing under the oppressive norms of colonial America, Deborah can’t contain her discontent any longer. When a sudden crisis forces her hand, she decides to finally make her escape. Embracing the peril and promise of the unknown, she cuts her hair, binds her chest, and, stealing clothes from a neighbor, rechristens herself Robert Shurtliff. It’s a desperate, dangerous, and complicated deception, and becomes only more so when, as Robert, she enlists in the Continental Army.
What follows is an inspiring, one-of-a-kind journey through an America torn apart by war: brutal winters and lethal battlefields, the trauma of combat and the cruelty of betrayal, the joy of true love and the tragedy of heartbreak. In his brilliant Revolutionary, Myers, who himself is a descendant of the historical Deborah, takes full advantage of this real-life heroine’s unique voice to celebrate the struggles for freedom, large and small, like never before.
My Quick Thoughts:
Hooray for historical fiction! Hooray for empowered women! Hooray for Revolutionary!
I had a great time reading this book. It’s based on a true story and those books are always a treat for me. In this case you could feel the love that the author had for the subject.
Revolutionary is a well-written labor of love about a fascinating woman. You can’t go wrong with this one.
The Relentless Reader 
It's been a while since I've read something by Sue Monk Kidd. I'm going to wait a few months before I read this one. My expectations are too high right now.
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Great mini-reviews! I just added \”Revolutionary\” to my TBR list!
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I've seen Bingo's Run everywhere lately but had no clue what it was about. This one sounds like something I need to read. Thanks for the review!
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Not you at all. I liked The Invention of Wings too, but I didn't love it. I thought Sarah was rather boring and too needy. I thought Handful, even though she was the fictional character of the two, was pure gold though. Her sections were my favorite parts and the reason I finished the book. Had it been just about Sarah, I don't know if I could have finished it.
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The blurb for the Invention of Wings looked really interesting but I wondered if it was going to be all I expected it to be…might give this a miss as the relationship was what really attracted me to the novel. Awesome mini review!
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I think I should have done the same. That's why I usually stay away from big hype books for a few months/years. Next time!
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Great! I hope you like it! 😀
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I think you should definitely read it. I loved it 😀 Thanks for visiting!
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I'm glad it wasn't only me! Sometimes I think, \”what am I missing!?\”
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I really think I would have liked it more if I had waited a few months to read it. I think the hype got to me, as it does a lot of the time!Thanks for visiting 😀
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Hooray for minis! I just love mini reviews. And I've never read Sue Monk Kidd. I've owned The Secret Life of Bees for YEARS, but we all know how that goes. So I'm glad I don't have ALL the expectations going into The Invention of Wings.
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So glad to hear you liked Revolutionary! I've had my eye on it for a long time but had been holding out because I hadn't heard much. A positive report from you means it's definitely moving up my list.
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I love your reviews and I love the books you read! I can't keep up, but I get some great ideas for books. Thank you. You have one of my favorite blogs. Oh, and I love your posts on facebook. Wasn't that cool that Michele Obama had a review of The Goldfinch? What did you think of it? I thought it was cool that she ventured into the book review world, but I was wondering if she had a ghost writer for the review (probably since most politician do). The only thing I thought was it sounded a little politicized. I guess you can't help that if you are the First Lady. But, I totally didn't get a connection with the White House Garden.
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Great minis! I am definitely intrigued by Revolutionary!
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Like your mini reviews, I sometimes just have to do these to catch up! I liked The Invention of Wings more than you, it might not have been her best work, but I was intrigued by both Hetty and Sarah's paths to making a difference. Great job.
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Ooooh Revolutionary sounds like my cup of tea. Historical fiction and badass ladies? Yes!
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I think mini reviews are great, too! I liked Invention of Wings a lot, but I had the experience with Secret Life of Bees that you had here. I read it and liked it, but thought there was a bit too much fuss made over it! With Invention of Wings, I thought the author created historically accurate characters instead of putting contemporary thoughts and mindsets into characters from a hundred years ago, but that did make them seem to be at a remove from the reader.
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You know, I think mini-reviews are highly underrated. Bingo's Run sounds right up my alley!
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Ah, you should absolutely read Bees. I remember adoring that one. Along with most of the world 😉 I'm becoming more and more a fan of minis!
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It's a good little read. The best part is that it is based on true events. Those kind of books always make me think 😀
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Heidi, thank you so very much! I liked the review and I hope she does some writing after her stint in the White House is over. Unless that was totally ghost-written of course, lol.
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It's a good one. I love the bad-assery of the main character 😉
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Thanks, Anita 😀 I'll be doing another set of mini-reviews soon! It's a great way to catch up and I think my readers kinda dig them too 😉
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Yep, exactly. I found myself wikipedia-ing a lot of things while reading that book. (I just made up a new verb)
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I read Bees long before I was a blogger. I wonder if I liked that one so much because I didn't even KNOW about the hype? 😉 Maybe!
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Out of these three that one was my favorite. I just loved the character of Bingo so much!
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I loved The Invention of Wings because it made me feel like I needed to get up and DO something, to fight for something I believe in. But hey, each book isn't for everyone!
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I'm glad you liked it! Especially if it made you feel that way. That's one of the best things about books 😀
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I enjoyed your mini reviews on these three books. I've heard of the first one but the other two I haven't, but they sound terrific.
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Thanks, Pat 🙂 I hope you'll have a chance to read one or two (or three!) of these!
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Sorry to hear the Monk Kidd was a disappointment. Remember, though, when we used to read to find books that we liked? Or maybe that was just me. If I liked a book, I was happy but then my expectations were never as high as they are sometimes now. If I loved a book, it was a great surprise.
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Yes, I know just what you mean. Things have definitely changed since I started blogging. I'm *trying* to get back to those free reading days 🙂
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Oh no! I have really high expectations for The Invention of Wings too. Hopefully, I'll go in expecting less now.
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If you temper your expectations you should be ok 😉 It's a good book, just not as GREAT as I was expecting.
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I had a similar reaction to The Invention of Wings. I wanted more. It was good, and I've been recommending it to people who have never heard of Sarah Grimke, but it let me down. I'm eager to read Revolutionary but haven't gotten to it yet this month!
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Jen, thanks for the quickies! I was hoping for another really good book from The Invention of Wings' author. 😦 And although I've seen it around, I had no idea about Bingo's Run — sounds good. BUT I have Revolutionary on my Kindle — excited to read it now that I've read your review.
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Right! I wouldn't NOT recommend it, but it wasn't all that I had hoped for. I hope you enjoy Revolutionary!
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I really loved the Invention of Wings. But you're right about them not being together through much of the book. I still thought it was amazing. Bingo's Run sounds really interesting.
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You might very well love the new Monk Kidd! You never know :)Bingo's Run is such a great book! I hope you like Revolutionary when you get to it
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I think I just expected too much…that happens to me darn it. I need to stay away from the big releases for a while. Until my hopes are tempered 😉
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Both Revolutionary and Bingo's Run sound like great reads. I'm really curious about Sue Monk Kidd's latest, although I am a little reluctant to try it at the same time. I really enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees, and even The Mermaid Chair which not everyone liked, so I have no reason why to be nervous about this new book. I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment to Julie. Waiting until expectations aren't quite so high might be the key to helping alleviate some of my hesitation to read it too.
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Thank you for linking to this week's Spread the Love Linky Party! I also pinned your post! 😀
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Cool, thanks!
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I loved Bees, and I thought Mermaid Chair was good too. If I were you? I'd give it a bit of time before you read this one. Get rid of those expectations 😀
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