Red Sky Over America (Ladies of Oberlin, #1)

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

[phyllish]

If you have ever wondered what it was like to be caught up in the issue of slavery before the Civil War, this book is for you. Author Tamera Lynn Kraft tells this story from multiple perspectives giving a wide range of opinions and the reasoning behind them. Though the story is primarily told from America’s and William’s viewpoints, there are small sections told from the perspective of one of the slaves and of a slave owner.

The characters were richly developed and their motivations were very clear. Both America and William made some mistakes and misunderstood each other, despite having good intentions, which made them perfect for the story.

“Seeing” firsthand what it was like in Kentucky at this time, and the various struggles that everyone faced related to survival and slavery was very interesting. The story was a rich adventure and while it wasn’t quite one that I couldn’t put down, it kept my interest to the very end.

Although it is not described in detail, the story does talk about the reprehensible treatment of some female slaves by their male masters as well as the general cruelty to all the slaves, so I would be cautious about giving this book to a younger reader. There is other violence as well.

This review was originally posted on Among the Reads