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Rating: 
Summary: Secrets Revealed
Review: In book three of the Shenandoah Girls Series, THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN AIN'T THE COLOR OF YOUR HEART, Michael Phillips continues the story of Mayme and Katie, two young girls, one a recently freed slave, and the other white, as they strive to survive alone on a North Carolina plantation. In this book, the girls survive a devastating flood, encounter unwelcomed and hostile visitors, and must come up with money to pay off a loan or risk losing their home. Henry and his son Jeremiah, also freed slaves, check in on the girls at the plantation regularly, providing assistance, protection and oftentimes, sound advice. In spite of the difficulties they encounter, Mayme and Katie are reunited with friends and family, discover new, shocking family connections, and for the first time a hint of romance enters their lives. Having had the privilege of reading the first two books in the Shenandoah Girls series, I feel I can positively assert that this is the best book in the series. Although, THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN AIN'T THE COLOR OF YOUR HEART could stand alone and be a decent read for those unfamiliar with the series, the emotional intensity of the book is heightened by the ongoing relationship readers have developed as they progress through each book in the collection. In this book, the author does a good job presenting well-rounded characters. Henry, a recently freed slave, plays a more prominent role in the story and portrays a smart, deeply spiritual, kind-hearted man, who is only limited by the social limitations that he internalized and the society in which he lived. Henry's son Jeremiah represents a newly freed slave from a different perspective, in that he is young, has big dreams and isn't less accepting of the status quo than Mayme and Henry. The external pressures of financial difficulties, racism, and the revealing of secrets seemed to regularly creep into the colorless microcosm of society they created on the plantation, yet with Henry's spiritual guidance and the emergence of a new father figure the "family" continues to thrive and the girls develop a deeper understanding of God. Emotional, humorous, and spiritually uplifting Michael Phillips has created another heartwarming gem. Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Rating:
Summary: Two orphans garner strength for some big surprises...
Review: Katie and Mayme are still at the plantation with their three charges and are yet convincing most people they are not just kids running a big spread. However, a few townspeople are finding out and they have a huge surprise visitor with even bigger news. Just when it seems things cannot get any bleaker, the author throws the reader a whole other twist.
Mayme gets the biggest surprise of her 16 yr. life and the news changes the whole dynamics of the plantation. Katie is contending with the terrible burden of meeting the payments on her mother's loan. Can the "miracle" she found be true? Can and will they be allowed to stay?
Greed, gold and corruption were just as prevalent then as now and the girls have no way knowing who or what to trust. Jeremiah and his father Henry are their best connections and also best protectors for the time being.
I have already bought the next book in the series and can hardly wait to start it. Thanks Tracie Peterson for another great, historical series.
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