Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

I really loved this book! I was a tad hesitant to read it initially because I hate reading about people who are abused and suffering. Once I started it though, I pretty much read it straight through. It is well-written and engaging and I developed strong feelings for the main characters, both negative and positive. Some people seem to be born evil - and some born kind & compassionate, no matter what their circumstances.

It's interesting what people will do to survive, especially if there is a child involved. People will make huge sacrifices for their children, even if they are suffering and scared all the time. The main character, Pheby Delores Brown, (who is based on a real person, Mary Lumpkin) was bi-racial. Her mother was a slave on a plantation and her father was the white plantation owner. Pheby was sent away from the plantation on the day of her mother's funeral by the plantation owner's wife. (Who was a nasty person indeed.) She was taken away to be a "fancy woman". "Fancy women" were sold to the highest bidder at auctions after being taken to a slave jail. Pheby was sent to one of the worst slave jails, owned by one of the cruelest jailers. Pheby refers to this man as The Jailer throughout the book.

The Jailer takes an interest in Pheby and instead of selling her, keeps him for himself. Pheby makes a decision to do what she has to do to survive. Upon arriving at the jail (called Devil's Half Acre), she figures out she is pregnant by the man, and fellow slave, she was in love with (Essex) on the plantation. Since she is worried about her unborn child (who would be born into slavery), she makes a deal with The Jailer. She will live as his "yellow wife" if he doesn't send her son away. She pretty much makes a deal with the devil. He is evil.

This is the second book I have read over the last few months where bi-racial, or very light-skinned black people, make the decision to live as white people in order to avoid racial bias and prejudice and so they can live a better life. In order to do this, they have to leave behind their heritage, parents, history. It's incredibly sad that people were forced to do this. 

Wendy's Rating: *****