Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

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A historical fiction novel that follows the life of an enslaved woman in pre-civil war America. Pheby was born a slave and when the freedom she was promised doesn’t come, she’s ripped from the life she knows and thrown into an even more unimaginable situation. She’s then forced to make sacrifice after sacrifice in a fight for freedom, survival, and love.

I absolutely loved the prose, the point of view, the way the story was presented to the reader, and basically everything the author did with this book. There is unfathomable sadness with this story, but there’s also so much more to it than just that. Some of the characters feel so much love and devotion and it’s what keeps carrying them on when there’s so much loss, pain, and sacrifice. The plot was also fast moving, as the MC was faced with ordeal after ordeal and there was never a dull moment. It was very hard to put this one down, (and hard not to cry at times!) and I would say it’s a must read for lovers of this time period or historical fiction in general, especially American historical fiction.

Here's the blurb:

Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Brown was promised her freedom on her eighteenth birthday. But when her birthday finally comes around, instead of the idyllic life she was hoping for with her true love, she finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half-Acre, a jail where slaves are broken, tortured, and sold every day. Forced to become the mistress of the brutal man who owns the jail, Pheby faces the ultimate sacrifice to protect her heart in this powerful, thrilling story of one slave’s fight for freedom.