The Dry Grass of August

A touching coming of age story set among the turmoil of overt discrimination and racial tensions in the Deep South in the 1950’s.

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SUMMARY
Road Trip! It’s a hot August in 1954 and thirteen year old Jubie Watts, her family and their maid are all headed to Pensacola, Florida in their Packard. Everyone except Jubie’s dad is going. Jubie’s sister, Stell just got her drivers license and can’t wait to share the driving with Jubie’s mom. Sitting in the back with Jubie and her siblings is Mary Luther is the Watts’ black maid, who has been cooking and cleaning for the family as long as Jubie can remember. As the family travels from Charlotte NC across Southern Georgia, Jubie cannot help but become aware of the anti-integration signs and discrimination that exist everywhere they stop. And then tragedy strikes. Jubie, overcome with grief and her own moral convictions, takes action into her own hands. Showing independence and courage, Jubie does what is right and is transformed.


REVIEW
THE DRY GRASS OF AUGUST is a touching chronicle of a period of time in Jubie’s life that would forever define who she would be. It’s a coming of age story emanating from a tragic event. My favorite part of the book was Jubie’s compassion, strength and growing awareness of the world she lives in. Jubie’s relationship with Mary was typical of girls raised in the South by a working or distant mother. I appreciated Mary’s role of quiet strength.

The writing was good, and it was a quick read. I struggled slightly with the chapter jumping back and forth in time, but I generally liked the way the story was told. There were a multitude of characters and issues brought out in the book including child abuse, infidelity, rape, racism, suicide, and embezzlement just to name a few, and as a result the story branched in many different directions. This is ANNA JEAN MAYHEW’s debut novel, which was an eighteen year process. Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington and Anna Jean Mayhew for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Publisher Kensington Books
Published January 29, 2019
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Years ago, while attending a book/author luncheon, the best-selling Guest Author was asked "when is a book considered literature."? I don't know that she answered the question directly, but her reply stuck with me: "A good book should do more than entertain."

I have thought about that statement many times and often reflect on it when I have completed a book. Essentially asking myself "what did this book leave with me" ? Jean Mayhew's book most definitely left something with me.
This was not a subtle book and the reader certainly didn't need to read between the lines to discern the author's messages, but nonetheless it was meaningful for me to be reminded of the history of cruelty and racism in this country. There have been dozens (if not hundreds) of novels focusing on the Holocaust in recent years, but I have encounter fewer that focused on this country and its destructive prejudices.

Many of the occurrences in this book were foreshadowed and the reader certainly was not caught unaware when bad things started to happen, but that didn't diminish their impact on me as a reader. I was grateful to be reminded that decades and decades may have past since the time of this historical novel, but there is still a long way to go to remedy the thinking and behavior that is featured in the book.

I am grateful to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a candid review.

The year is 1954. Jubie the second oldest is her family is thirteen. She has an older sister and a younger sister and a baby brother. They also gave a maid, a "girl" named Mary. She is colored, loving, hard working and dedicated. Jubie loves Mary. Mary is where Jubie finds the affection and understanding she doesn't get from her own parents.
They are on a vacation, everyone, including Mary, but not dad. They are in a wreck. They have to stay in that town until the car is fixed. There are strict rules about people of color. They have to stay in their own rooms, use outhouses that are only for Negros and there is a curfew. There is definitely unrest against them because of the courts wanting to do away with segregation. During an outing with Jubie, Mary and her older sister Mary is beaten and Killed. The heartwrenching fact about this story and real life back then is how Coloreds were treated. Whites treated them without any respect, like they were ignorant and couldn't think for themselves, like they couldn't hear or have feelings, maybe worse like they weren't a person.
Jubie is not like that. She shows great concern for Mary. She's always looking out for her, and helping where she can. She even runs away, takes her mother's car and drives miles and miles from where they're vacationing to be able to attend Mary's funeral. Jubie is a young girl born before her time who doesn't see color. She only sees the person for who the are.
Sensational story!!!

The style of writing is very descriptive and at some points it’s very heavy with dialogue. That’s not the kind of writing that gets me through the story. Therefore, I’m not the right reviewer for this book.

I was hesitant about reading this book. Being a southern woman who came of age during the height of the civil rights movement, I oftentimes find the book written about those times to be simplistic and stereotypical. Mayhew's book was a welcome respite from those. I enjoyed its honesty and related to Jubie in a way that I found surprising. Excellent and highly recommended.

August 19th June and her siblings take their first trip without daddy and also with their black maid. They are going to Florida and segregation and ku Klux Klan is rampant in south.they were going to florida to see their uncle,the pacing was too slow for me.

In a story that will remind many of The Help, Mayhew tells the story of thirteen year old Jubie is traveling with her family from her home in North Carolina to a vacation in Florida. Accompanying them is the family maid, Mary Luther. Mary has been the one constant in Jubie’s life, caring for the girl’s physical and emotional needs and as the family travels south Jubie sees firsthand the racial divide tearing the country apart. A searing portrayal of life in mid century America