Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham
In Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham, ten-year-old Ludelphia Bennett only knows one way of life and that is sharecropping and the people in her small town. In fact, she’s never left the town at all or explored the surrounding communities.
Life is relatively simple and happy but not without its sorrow as her mother loses baby after baby or without poverty due in part to the Great Depression. There is one thing that Ludelphia loves more than anything and that’s to quilt. Her mother says she was born to quilt and she’s never seen without a scrap of cloth and needle in her pocket. The act of quilting and the subsequent act of contemplation that it brings is a thread that binds this story together.
When Ludelphia’s mother delivers her new baby early and falls deathly ill, her family is told that there is nothing that can be done. But Ludelphia won’t give up that easily and takes off on her own to Camden, a town forty miles away in hopes of bringing the white doctor back with her.
The journey is eventful and challenging and tests Ludelphia’s courage and resolve. Remember she’s never been beyond her town’s borders before nor even seen a white person. But in her attempt to save her mothers life will she end up dooming the entire town of Gee’s Bend? It’s certainly possible.
I enjoyed learning more about this real town of Gee’s Bend which is steeped in quilting history and was the inspiration for this novel. The book felt a bit slow near the beginning of the book but once Ludelphia began her journey, everything began to move along and I was fully invested in her story. Many in the town believe in witchcraft which I felt brought an intriguing element to not only the story’s beginning but its end as well.
Ludelphia is a strong and memorable character and while she may not always be the smartest in certain situations, I like young girl characters who know what they want and how to hold their own.
I can’t think of anything better to say then what Steph worded so well in her review:
It offers a memorable character and a compelling story with several interesting twists. It also provides fertile ground for discussion of quilting and folk art, sharecropping, poverty, racism, courage, and compassion, among other things.
The cover is ultimately what drew me to this cover. I knew I wanted to read it before I knew what is about.
Leaving Gee’s Bend is part of my themed reading for the month of February which celebrates Black History Month. Join me this month as I explore books that celebrate the history of African-Americans.
Links of interest: Irene Latham website, blog and Twitter.
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction, approx ages 9-12.
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile. January 7, 2010.
Hardcover, 230 pages. ISBN 0399251790
Source copy: Unsolicited review copy (meaning it mysteriously showed up in my mail)
Leaving Gee’s Bend is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
Copyright 2009. Maw Books Blog
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