SOJOURNER TRUTH BOOK CLUB

The Sojourner Truth Book Club of the Ridgeview Public Library meets the third Monday of every month here at the library. This month they are reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

BOOK REVIEW - THE KNOWN WORLD

I recently read "The Known World" by Edward P. Jones. It is a Pulitzer prize winner about free blacks owning other black people in Manchester County, Virginia around 1855. The story demonstrates the psychological mind of enslaved people and how easy it was for free blacks to fall into the practice of buying slaves. One of the main characters is Henry Townsend, a free black man who grew up on the plantation of the powerful white slave owner, William Robbins. Henry's parents had managed to buy their freedom when Henry was a small boy, but Robbins would not let them take their child until they had saved enough money to buy his freedom, which took many years. During this time of separation from his parents, Henry and Robbins formed a fatherly bond that his parents could not break when they were finally able to buy his freedom.

When Henry becomes a grown man, he still looks up to Robbins and views him as a mentor. Under Robbins' guidance, Henry buys a plantation and begins to purchase slaves, much to his parents' disappointment. How could their son enslave his own people? Henry at first treats his slaves like they are his friends until Robbins observes how Henry interacts with his foreman. He reprimands Henry and instructs him how to treat slaves so that they will know their place.

Henry dies early in the story leaving his wife Caldonia to cope as best she can with the running of the plantation and the slaves. Everything falls into disarray with slaves escaping and overstepping their bounds. The story weaves back and forth from the present to the past telling the stories of free blacks, enslaved blacks, rich and poor whites and Indians and their connection to each other. It is sometimes difficult to keep track of all the many characters and the jumping from the present to the past, but overall, it is a good read.

GED CLASSES AT RIDGEVIEW LIBRARY

We now have GED classes at the Ridgeview Library. These classes are held every Tuesday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and every Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Call to inquire about how to register.

April is National Poetry Month

Can you remember some of the first poems you ever heard or read? What about in school when you learned about haiku's? The classroom was rather noisy with students clapping to make sure their haiku fit the standard count. What about the "love" poems you sent to your secret crush, that began with, "Roses are red, Violets are blue..." What better place to explore the world of words than your library.

For children we have books of poetry from authors such as Nikki Grimes, Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, Walter Dean Myers and many more. For adults there is a wide range of poets to choose from also. They are Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Nikki Giovanni, Kate Rushin, Sapphire, even R&B singer Jill Scott.

So come on in and choose a book of poems from your favorite author or discover your "new" favorite author, here at your library.

New Book

Groove by Geneva Holliday

This is a story of four friends living in New York City. Geneva is a single mother struggling with her weight and raising her teenage son alone; Noah is gay and secretly dating women; Crystal seems to have her life together, but doesn't know her boyfriend, Kendrick, as well as she thinks; Chevy is their gold-digging friend who only thinks of herself.

Groove is a very good book that you will not want to put down. This is the author's first book under the name Geneva Holliday. She has other books, Sugar, Warmest December, among others, under the name of Bernice L. McFadden. Readers will be surprised when they read Groove because it is a different read than her previous books. Very well written, very exciting.

72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell

Mother Keri Whitmore, a divorced mother struggles to save her bipolar daughter, Trina, from self-destruction. Once Trina turns 18, getting her help becomes even harder because she can now sign herself out of treatment. Keri also must face not having any support from her ex-husband who is in denial of his daughter's mental illness.

Trina is doing well at one point, she takes her medication regularly and has just been accepted to college. Keri must stay on the look out for the least little thing that can trigger a downward spiral in Trina.

Keri struggles to get extensions to her daughter's hospital stays and also with the cost of her stays. She soon decides to try a new treatment which will take her and Trina "underground".

This book will take you through all the struggles that a parent may have to go through to "save" their mentally unstable child.

AUTHOR VISIT AT RIDGEVIEW LIBRARY

We have a great author coming to the Ridgeview Library on Monday, October 10 at 6:30 p.m. Her name is Dori Sanders. She has written such books as "Clover" (which was made into a movie), "Her Own Place", "Dori Sanders' Country Cooking and her latest book "Promise Land : A farmer remembers". Ms. Sanders lives in York County, South Carolina on a family operated fruit and vegetable farm that specializes in peaches. Ms. Sanders states she started to write down her stories as a way of passing down her family history. She has been a visiting writer at Lenoir Rhyne College.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Ridgeview Branch Library web log. Let us know what you would like to see here, and we would like to know what you like and what you don't like about the Ridgeview Library. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard.