Customer Reviews

Leaving Gee's Bend

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A perfect read for a cold winter's day by the fire or a lovely summer's day in the hammock! Ms Latham has recreated for us a time and social culture we should never forget and thanks to her marvelous Ludelphia, I don't think I ever will. Such love and determination quietly moves in the face of ignorance and discrimination helping us to understand why it is important to remember stories such as this. A must read for my grandchildren and my friends. I'm looking forward to more from Irene Latham.

Ten-year-old Ludelphia Bennett had never set her bare feet on any dirt outside the small sharecropping community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. There was never a need for it. While her daddy and brother were in the fields pulling cotton, Ludelphia helped her mama around the house. When there wasn't work to be done she pulled the small scraps of cloth and needle from her pocket to work on her story quilt. Stitching the tiny pieces together settled her thoughts and comforted her.

As time passed, Mama needed her help more often. It seemed that the bigger the baby grew inside Mama, the weaker she became. One morning, a series of coughing fits seized Mama and caused her to collapse on the floor. She couldn't get back up. It was all Ludelphia could do to get Mama across the room and onto the cornshuck pallet she used for a bed. It was too soon for the baby to be born but it couldn't be helped. Without a doctor or time to spare, Ludelphia and her neighbor, Etta Mae, did everything they knew how to do.

When her mama's health takes a turn for the worse and her family says there's nothing else they can do, Ludelphia takes matters into her own hands. She decides that her mama's only hope is for her to leave Gee's Bend in search of a real doctor with real medicine. The perilous journey to Camden is over 40 miles long and danger lurks at every turn. Ludelphia's greatest strength is her ability to draw on the words of wisdom her mother instilled in her over the years. Will this inner strength be enough to carry Ludelphia to Camden and back in time to save her mother's life?

Leaving Gee's Bend is set in 1932 in the dirt-poor sharecropping community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. The language used is authentic to the period and people. The characters and landscape are vivid. The author moves smoothly between Ludelphia's inner thoughts and the world around her. Although the protagonist is only ten, Leaving Gee's Bend will appeal to more than a middle-grade audience and is reminiscent of Wilder's Little House series.

Latham has successfully woven together a novel that reflects the deep faith and inner strength of the people of Gee's Bend and offers a glimpse into the area's rich quilting history.

I really enjoyed the colorful characters in this wonderfully written book. You feel like you have been transported back in time with Ludelphia. She is a simple girl who is driven to do extraordinary things for the family she loves.

Such a wonderful story for children as well as adults! It made me laugh and brought me to tears! Would highly recommend!!

Latham was inspired to write this book by an exhibit she visited in New York on the quilts of Gee's Bend, a small rural community in Alabama. After the Civil War, the freed slaves, who worked as sharecroppers, founded an all-black community nearly isolated from the surrounding world. The town's women developed a distinctive quilting style passed down through at least six generations.

Set in 1932, the novel Leaving Gee's Bend incorporates both the inspired quilting heritage of this small community and its isolated geography to tell the story of ten-year old Ludelphia, who may have only one eye that works but still has plenty of chores to do.

Her mama's about to have a baby any minute, and is sick with a terrible cough, but the one thing that can make Mama smile no matter what is stitching quilts. Ludelphia's beginning a quilt all about her own story, intended as a special gift for her Mama. She's always got a needle and bits of cloth in her pocket, and has been sewing since she was a "little bitty girl."

When Mama's baby comes too soon and Mama gets even sicker, Ludelphia decides she has to go fetch a "real doctor" all the way from Camden, even though there's no money to pay him. But to get there, she has to cross the river, and she's got no time to wait for the ferryman. Crossing by herself, she winds up way downstream, where Ludelphia discovers a new world, one with fancy houses for white people with real glass panes, motor cars, delicious food, and even genuine Coca-Cola. But there's danger too, with a crazy white lady who threatens to come to Gee's Bend and take everything they've got. But Ludelphia knows she can't give up, no matter what. She's got to help Mama, and also help her neighbors in Gee's Bend.

While this story is fictional, the author incorporates some real incidents in the history of Gee's Bend into her narrative, which she discusses in an Author's Note. This is a heartwarming novel with a strong female protagonist who takes charge of her own destiny, no matter how frightening.

Latham's novel was a one-sitting read for me--I couldn't put it down. Ludelphia Bennett is a determined, plucky heroine, and the setting is 100% authentic. The message of the power of family bonds and the love between the characters touched my heart. This would be a fantastic book for any English classroom (all the literary quality without any offensive content to upset school boards or parents) or even for a college American Studies course. Latham kept the momentum of the story going with each chapter; there was never a dull moment. I immediately passed along my copy to a friend, insisting that it is a MUST-READ. Take the time to read this touching, beautiful novel. It will be time well spent.

Written in simple, yet lyrical prose, Leaving Gee's Bend is a profoundly moving and heartfelt debut novel. I loved Ludelphia as a character and was with her on her whole remarkable journey.

Latham does an amazing job of evoking a bygone era, bringing to life the south in the 1930s and the often heartbreaking, yet deeply rich and vibrant spirit of a sharecropper community and the families who live there.

Latham is a writer to watch, and I will be picking up her next book eagerly.

Reason for Reading: I love books set in 1930s Southern USA.

Summary: Ludelphia Bennett is ten years old, her family is part of a sharecropping community. Ludelphia wears a patch over one eye as she accidentally went blind in it when a tiny sliver of wood flew into it when she was younger. She has a passion for quilting and is working on a special quilt now for her Mama that will tell Ludelphia's story to her. Mama is ill with a terrible cough and large with a baby on the way but when Mama goes into labour early and the baby is born healthy after 3 previous stillborn, Mama's health turns worse. She can hardly breathe and now she's coughing up blood. Ludelphia decides she must do more for Mama and embarks on a 40 mile journey to get the nearest doctor and medicine to save Mama's life. It's a dangerous journey for one-eyed, ten year old Ludelphia, who has never been out of Gee's Bend, and never seen a white person before but she takes her quilting with her to keep her hands busy and on the way comes across scraps of cloth to add to the quilt and her story.

Comments: This is a sweet, touching story. I fell in love with Ludelphia from the first page. She is a feisty girl, full of questions, not one to accept an answer without fully understanding and agreeing with it. She has a fine heart, loving all those around her and giving all the benefit of the doubt, she has a way with animals and is the only one who can get along with the stubborn mule they own. A very enjoyable character to read about.

The book takes the reader inside the daily life of a struggling sharecropper family during the depression. How the small rows of houses form a community and everyone looks after each other. They share the good times and they weather the strife and hardship together. I read this book quickly and really enjoyed it. It is a heart touching story and one roots for Ludelphia as she works her way through each challenge ultimately not only to save Mama but to save Gee's Bend itself. The story presented here is fictional but the author has woven a real life event from Gee's Bend's history into the novel.

The only thing that I felt book needed was an illustration at the end of Ludelphia's finished quilt. It's making is so integral to the book's plot, I felt a bit let down not being able to see the finished product and search within it for some of the pieces of cloth she found along the way.

Ludelphia Bennett lives on a sharecropping farm in Gee's Bend, Alabama. The time is 1932, but this isn't a story focused wholly on the Great Depression; instead, this is a story of Ludelphia trying to help her mother overcome an illness. Because Gee's Bend is African American and because this is a time of challenges and because this is a story set in the South before Civil Rights, you can bet there's not a doctor in town.

When Mama has a coughing fit so hard she goes into labor with Rose, Ludelphia decides to head to the next biggest town -- Camden -- which is across the river by ferry. But things go terribly, terribly wrong and the wife of the farm where Ludelphia's family sharecrops is not happy. She's so unhappy, she seeks her revenge.

Will Ludelphia be able to find a doctor for her mother? Will little Rose survive? Will the family lose everything they have?

Interwoven into the story line is the story of quilting. Mama loved to quilt and taught Ludelphia the same. This act and the symbolism behind it cement the story of Gee's Bend and the story of family and struggle.

For me, the story's pace was a bit uneven: at the beginning, I felt the story moved too slowly, but the end of the story moved far too quickly for me. I loved the setting and wish I could have gotten more flavor for Gee's Bend; this is precisely one of the reasons I liked this book -- I'm very compelled to go learn more about the area. Thanks to the author, I've got a list of resources in the back to whet my appetite for it, too. I found the subplot involving the Red Cross, which we come to find out at the end is a big thrust of the story, comes very late into the novel and isn't quite developed enough. I think this could have been pushed further throughout to make it stronger and more powerful.

I'm not a big historical fiction fan, but the setting and time period for this one were engaging and unique. Although the story is set in the age of the Depression, developing a plot around an African American family was memorable and one that's very underplayed in the grand world of fiction (not just teen fiction - I mean all of it).

Ludelphia's voice felt like that of a 10-year-olds, and I felt that for the most part, her age and her actions were spot on. I thought some of the resolutions were too tidy to be accomplished by a character her age, but the fact this is a story set in a time where children were expected to be adults early on makes it believable.

Leaving Gee's Bend sets itself apart from the growing field of middle grade novels. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this might be a title you hear about come next year when awards are around. Although not as intricately detailed as Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, I kind of felt like I was reading a similar story. These books arouse a sense of comfort with them, perhaps one triggered by the fondness of historic places or stories (Latham's author's note mentions this and how a quilting exhibit in New York spurred her to write the book).

Although I thought the quilting metaphor was done well, I wanted more. I think it could have been pushed a bit further and emphasized a little more to really pack a punch at the end.

While it's not one of my personal favorites, this is a book with merits. I think it might be a tough sell to kids because it's a historical fiction, but this is one that would work wonderfully in a classroom unit on the 1930s, culturalism or regionalism in America, or even art/crafts. Because there's enough adventure and not too much stress on emotions and feelings, boys might enjoy this one, as well. For kids who love historical fiction, this is a home run. I appreciated that the book was much shorter than others of this ilk, which may itself make it one kids would be more open to trying.

Ludelphia Bennett's life is full of chores and quilting and love with her family in Gee's Bend, Alabama, but then her mama falls ill. There isn't anyone who can help her, but Ludelphia isn't about to sit around and not do anything for her mama, so she sets out to leave Gee's Bend for the first time in her life to find a doctor to help her. As she gets farther and farther away from home, chronicling her journey with her quilt pieces, Ludelphia will learn an important lesson about love, courage, and helping others.

Irene Latham's debut novel is truly one that anyone of any age can enjoy. It's a quick, entertaining read and Ludelphia's voice is so genuine, compelling, and full of spunk, you can practically hear her words aloud. The rich historical details in Leaving Gee's Bend make the book stand out, from the fascinating stories of the residents' ancestry, the actual Red Cross drops during that time, to the beautiful and unique quilting traditions in Gee's Bend. Latham does such a wonderful job at conveying the struggles and resilience of the people of Gee's Bend, making this book a great one to teach to kids and an entertaining and educational one for older readers as well. I can't wait to see what she'll write next!