Inventing Victoria

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In a searing historical novel, Tonya Bolden illuminates post Reconstruction America in an intimate portrait of a determined young woman who dares to seize the opportunity of a lifetime.As a young black woman in 1880s Savannah, Essie s dreams are very much at odds with her reality Ashamed of her beginnings, but unwilling to accept the path currently available to her, Essie is trapped between the life she has and the life she wants.Until she meets a lady named Dorcas Vashon, the richest and most cultured black woman she s ever encountered When Dorcas makes Essie an offer she can t refuse, she becomes Victoria Transformed by a fine wardrobe, a classic education, and the rules of etiquette, Victoria is soon welcomed in the upper echelons of black society in Washington, D C But when the life she desires is finally within her grasp, Victoria must decide how much of herself she is truly willing to surrender. Download Inventing Victoria author Tonya Bolden – kino-fada.fr Okay, this wasn t totally the big magic I was hoping it would be based on the cover gah or the description period piece wealthy black people a piece of history you pretty much never read about, especially in fiction , but it was still some magic for sure, and I would hand it to a lot of kids if I were still working as a librarian Where it fell flat was pacing and characterization I know, I know, that s all a book is, right But no There s also setting and plot skeleton and sundry Any Okay, this wasn t totally the big magic I was hoping it would be based on the cover gah or the description period piece wealthy black people a piece of history you pretty much never read about, especially in fiction , but it was still some magic for sure, and I would hand it to a lot of kids if I were still working as a librarian Where it fell flat was pacing and characterization I know, I know, that s all a book is, right But no There s also setting and plot skeleton and sundry Anyway, I really love everything about the idea of this book, all the descri...free review copy from the publisher Inventing Victoria is a young adult novel about a time period in American history not often written about, especially in YA Set in 1880 s Savannah, Georgia then Balti, Maryland then Washington DC, this is a story about Essie, the daughter of a prostitute a former slave who came to Savannah on General William Tecumseh Sherman s famous march to the sea Essie wants to make a better life for herself against the backdrop of limited opportunities for Blac free review copy from the publisher Inventing Victoria is a young adult novel about a time period in American history not often written about, especially in YA Set in 1880 s Savannah, Georgia then Balti, Maryland then Washington DC, this is a story about Essie, the daughter of a prostitute a former slave who came to Savannah on General William Tecumseh Sherman s famous march to the sea Essie wants to make a better life for herself against the backdrop of limited opportunities for Blacks in the south after Reconstruction, and is miraculously swept up into the graces of a wealthy female b...Born after Sherman s March, raised in Savannah, Essie wants to be better than her mother, better than her surroundings Given the opportunity, she becomes the protegee of a wealthy woman who educates h...Well,Inventing Victoria is not exciting it s mad dry and needs some lotion , but it is a good portrayal of some of the horrors realities African Americans experienced during the 1800s blatant discrimination racial attacks but new triumphs as well We don t get too much insight into Essie s head, so this story isplot driven Honestly, I don t know too much about Essie Besides her circumstances and the shame she feels from her mother, and her love of drawing, what does Essie like or th Well,Inventing Victoria is not exciting it s mad dry and needs some lotion , but it is a good portrayal of some of the horrors realities African Americans experienced during the 1800s blatant discrimination racial attacks but new triumphs as well We don t get too much insight into Essie s head, so this story isplot driven Honestly, I don t know too much about Essie Besides her circumstances and the shame she feels from her mother, and her love of drawing, what does Essie like or think about If I connectedwith Essie, maybe I would ve enjoyed the journey .Anyway, in the story, Essie s mother is a prostitute in a brothel house where the uncles white men make their nightly visits Her mother sometimes copes with this by using alcohol to get through it Now, the uncles pay well most of the time , so Essie does enjoy the gifts until she learns how they we...Ehh, I wantedfrom this one.I wanted to love this one I really truly did It gave me upper class post slavery, moving on up vibes while it delivered that at a languid pace it left me wanting.I m just going to start right off when the things I didn t like The story itself seemed on a path to something that by the end it didn t quite meet It was aimless and plot less if I can say so.The writing itself is magnificent engaging and truly believable for the time it was set in From the dress and the language, it read like I wanted to love this one I really truly did It gave me upper class post slavery, moving on up vibes while it delivered that at a languid pace it left me wanting.I m just going to start right off when the things I didn t like The story itself seemed on a path to something that by the end it didn t quite meet It was aimless and plot less if I can say so.The writing itself is magnificent engaging and truly believable for the time it was set in From the dress and the language, it read like a Langston Hughes Harlem Renaissance era novel But as far as the intentions and the direction, it was a little muddled.What I did enjoy however was the rags to riches side of the story The main character did not allow a less than stellar upbringing deter her from creating the life she felt she deserved and I am all for a heroine pulling herself up by the bootstraps and going for it.I also rather enjoye...I want to first say thank you again to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book, I was super interested in this book when I came across the title online and I just really wanted to read it as soon as humanly possible, so thank you to them for making that happen This is a historical fiction novel and I was super interested to read it because I love history Anyhow this book centers around Essie in the 1880s Essie is living in Savannah and she has big dreams but these never seem to matc I want to first say thank you again to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book, I was super interested in this book when I came across the title online and I just really wanted to read it as soon as humanly possible, so thank you to them for making that happen This is a historical fiction novel and I was super interested to read it because I love history Anyhow this book centers around Essie in the 1880s Essie is living in Savannah and she has big dreams but these never seem to match up with what society dictates and what is real for her Then one day Essie meets Dorcas she is a very rich...This book mostly suffers from me wanting it to be something other than what it was I thought Crossing Ebenezer Creek was a riveting and important book I was looking forward to reading a book that explored the time period after Reconstruction failed I liked that some of the characters from Crossing Ebenezer Creek were in this book, and from a historical perspective it was quite good It was just so very dry I wanted to know the charactersand really get inside their head The vagueness a This book mostly suffers from me wanting it to be something other than what it was I thought Crossing Ebenezer Creek was a riveting and important book I was looking forward to reading a book that explored the time period after Reconstruction failed I liked that some of the characters from Crossing Ebenezer Creek were in this book, and from a historical perspective it was quite good It was just so v...Disclaimer I received this free book from the publisher This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest There were so many things I appreciated about the story the setting, Essie Victoria s determination to move up in society, her relationship with the mother figures in this book but at the end I was craving a bitexpansion The story, in and of itself, is one that is well rounded, all ends tied up, a fantastic setting, history, and a main character you can empathize wi Disclaimer I received this free book from the publisher This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest There were so many things I appreciated about the story the setting, Essie Victoria s determination to move up in society, her relationship with the mother figures in this book but at the end I was craving a bitexpansion The story, in and of itself, is one that is well roun...Don t let the beautiful cover fool you This is not a polished, elegant young adult book about a young black woman rising socially during the Reconstruction Era Instead, it s a rambling mess that squanders its premise and strongly resembles the style and substance of the Out West Pioneers story I wrote the summer after sixth grade.Thematically, this book and my story have nothing in common, but they are both similarly terrible in their inability to harness plot, character, or setting towards an Don t let the beautiful cover fool you This is not a polished, elegant young adult book about a young black woman rising socially during the Reconstruction Era Instead, it s a rambling mess that squanders its premise and strongly resembles the style and substance of the Out West Pioneers story I wrote the summer after sixth grade.Thematically, this book and my story have nothing in common, but they are both similarly terrible in their inability to harness plot, character, or setting towards any real purpose This book has a wonderful concept, and it could have been dazzling, especially since it s on such a rarely addressed subject However, even in the scene where the heroine meets Frederick Douglass, every page remains a snooze fest I wish I had taken the advice of critical Goodreads reviewers and passed on this book, but I just didn t believe it could be that bad.Unfortunately, it was worse This reads like a first d...I read an ARC from Bloomsbury YA via NetGalley I read Crossing Ebenezer Creek and found it really compelling Had I not read Tonya Bolden before, I might not have picked this book up based on the cover I wouldn t normally read something about high society However, I knew I liked Bolden s storytelling and this book did not disappoint You don t have to have read Crossing Ebenezer Creek first, but if you did it s nice because this book takes place after those events and lightly includes seconda I read an ARC from Bloomsbury YA via NetGalley I read Crossing Ebenezer Creek and found it really compelling Had I not read Tonya Bolden before, I might not have picked this book up based on the cover I wouldn t normally read something about high society However, I knew I liked Bolden s storytelling and this book did not disappoint You don t have to have read Crossing Ebenezer Creek first, but if you did it s nice because this book takes place after those events and lightly includes secondary characters from Sherman s March that we met in that book Essie is young black woman in 1880 s Savannah She struggles living with her mother and has found solace in Ma Clara who looks out for her and helps her find good work in a boarding house away from her mother While working at the boarding house a black woman of culture makes Essie an offer s...very compelling read about an era in history I know almost nothing about I really love when a book highlights a little known period or part of history The reference guide at the end is of particular note int his case I m glad to know the author took the work seriously, ... Inventing Victoria initially intrigued me, and I read the first 30 pages in one sitting However, as the story progressed, I started to lose interest I think Victoria started off as a strong character but slowly descended into a ...See my review for this book at

Inventing Victoria
  • English
  • 08 July 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 272 pages
  • 168119807X
  • Tonya Bolden
  • Inventing Victoria