I read this book last year, and it was def a 5 start book for me! Here's a copy of my review I posted on GoodReads.com that does not contain any spoilers.
Excellent book. I really had no idea what it was about before reading it. It kills me about the racism that occurs in this book - and to know that it was part of our country's history - those parts were painful for me to read.
I love people, no matter what color they are, and it kills me to see anything different. I'm grateful for some of the positive stories that were portrayed between the different races of people and pray that some relationships like these actually existed in this time, since this is a historical fiction story.
I love the 3 ladies points of view this book is told from. Since I have never lived in the South, it took me a minute to get used to the heavy southern accents they speak in. It's written how a southern accent would sound, not how the word is actually spelled - but I do feel it authenticates the characters and was necessary.
Since this is not a flowery book (like I normally tend to read, lol) it didn't have a flowery ending, yet it was a good ending with people dealing and living with the natural consequences of their decisions, which I liked. I grew very attached to the three main characters (the story is told from their POV's), they were just awesome!
Also, there's an interesting author's note at the end of the book - that was good to read and understand why she chose to write this book and her history with this subject and time period.