Yellow Wife: A Novel

Absolutely beautiful writing. I loved every minute of this book and could not put it down. Looking forward to reading more by Sadeqa Johnson!

This was a good book! I love historical fiction involving enslaved people where we have some semblance of winning in the end. Not a perfect ending for the main character, but she saw two of her most important dreams through.

Good read

I picked this up a few days ago, but knowing the subject matter, I put it off until I had a bit of breathing room. And then, once I actually started, I flew through it in a couple of days. Was it a brilliant book? For me, not entirely. It’s fast-paced, engaging, and tells a gripping story inspired by the real lives of Mary Lumpkin, a light-skinned slave owned by Robert Lumpkin, who ran a notoriously brutal slave jail and later married Mary. That real-life connection gives the story weight, even when the writing doesn’t fully carry it. That said, something felt a little off. Pheby, the main character, didn’t always feel rooted in her time. At moments, she reminded me of Dana from Kindred - like someone dropped into the 1800s with a modern sensibility, trying to adapt based on what she knows rather than what she’s lived. It made parts of her voice feel slightly out of place. There were also a few threads that didn’t quite land. The whole thing with her book felt like it was building toward something, but never really paid off. And the ending moves ahead pretty abruptly, skipping over what feels like important closure. Overall, it’s an immersive read that keeps you turning the pages, but it didn’t hit as deeply or cohesively as it could have.

If you're looking for a page-turner, this is it.