The Kitchen House

Summary (from the publisher): When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family.
Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.

Review: This novel was so well-written and made me remember why I love historical fiction. Grissom spared no details in describing the horrors of slavery, and while at times it was difficult to read, the story needed to be told. I enjoyed that it was from the dual perspectives ...of an indentured servant from Ireland and a slave fathered by the plantation master. I hope Grissom writes a sequel so I can find out what happens to the characters after this novel concludes.

Stars: 4