The ending was very intense and emotional-I listened with rapt attention, even though I believed I knew what was going to happen.

I held my breath at times when they exhibited behaviors that would likely put them in real danger, and I sighed with relief when it seemed that they would be all right. I really cared what happened to the two main characters, Mattie and Lisbeth.

I feel the story was well-balanced and the facts of the period were presented in a non-preachy and non-exaggerated manner.

The slavery period can make for very sad and uncomfortable reading, but author Ibrahim handled this with finesse, neither appealing to or manipulating our emotions and our guilt, nor glossing over it to make it more palatable. Whether I loved them or hated them, I could surely understand their motivations and behaviors based on the times and the setting they resided in. The characters were well-developed and all very believable. It takes some emotional bracing and mental preparation beforehand, but I will not avoid these two heartrending and important subjects. I am often wary of reading a 'slave' book, just like I am of a 'holocaust' book. I enjoyed everything about it, and I am sure it will remain in my memory for a long time to come. I don't rate all good books with 5 stars, but I have absolutely nothing to nitpick about this audiobook. It doesn’t shy away from horrors of slavery but it also tells of the courage and strength of both the leading ladies who ultimately want to escape from an unacceptable lifestyle and enter a world where all humans are treated equally. This is a beautifully written book, very easy to read and very difficult to put down. Despite this Mattie doesn’t resent Lisbeth for the enforced separation. There is a very sad episode where she struggles to breastfeed him because he hasn’t bonded with her. The fact that Mattie is able to wet nurse Lisbeth shows that she has been torn away from her own child, a boy that she only permitted to see weekly. There are many occasions when their love and respect for each other is obvious and although helpless to change Mattie’s slave status Lisbeth neither views her nor treats her as a slave. The novel centres on the relationship between Lisbeth, eldest child of white plantation owners and Mattie, her black wet nurse, a relationship that transcends race, colour, creed and age. It is quite rare for me to read and enjoy a book that is character rather than plot driven but this one is an exception to the rule. A relationship transcending race, colour & creed

The yellow crocus book review