The House of Eve: A Reese's Book Club Pick

This was a good read. Initially, it started a little slow but by Chapter 10, I couldn't stop reading! It pulled on my heart strings heavily!

Absolutely another amazing and beautiful story of the truth. I cannot get enough of her writing. She touches my heart and soul. I highly recommend reading this and her books. Sometimes I notice I am not breathing while reading. Now on to the next. 💕

This was an excellent read! I highly recommend it. When I turn to reading a book instead of watching television, I'm hooked. The book was easy to read and I felt like I was living in the moment with each of the characters. The author did an excellent job of capturing the people, the times, and a history unfamiliar to many of us.Thank you! Job well done.

After the first few pages I started to think this book wasn't for me, but I continued to read. I'm glad I did! It took place in a world, in a time I knew little about, but the author brought it to life for me. I enjoyed it!

I really liked this book! It brought back so many memories! When I was in college I was engaged to marry a guy! He was the love that I always wanted! He was fair skinned and I am not ! His mother was fair skinned and she just could not see us getting married! We spit up, but I have never stopped loving him and wondering, what if! Fifty years later, I still am hurting and feeling empty!

I loved the story and how the characters connected. It was well written and the story flowed for easy reading. I didn't want it to end. I fell for all the characters and their stories.

I usually avoid historical fiction. It was never a good time for Blacks, women, and Black women, especially. It usually leaves me feeling angry, bitter, and drained.I was looking for a book club read. That one was out of stock. This one was suggested so I took a chance. I'm glad that I did. I won't get into the specifics because I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone. Just know that I laughed. I cried. I was angry. I was sad. I was confused. I understood. I could relate. I was disappointed. I was elated. It was certainly an emotional rollercoaster and I ended up enjoying the ride.

Very good book for light reading.

Sadeqa Johnson writes a good story that reveals the terrible details of what it was like for unwed black mothers in the 50’s in America. Rudy and Eleanor each had their own struggles. Their endings were rather predictable. The final ending was satisfying though.

Whew House of Eve was a journey. So thought provoking, eye opening, and engaging. I adored Ruby and Eleanor’s strength- they were two separate women, who had goals and aspirations. Eleanor struggled with conceiving and Ruby was a pregnant teen - at first I couldn’t see how the two related but when the realization came to light, I understood what the author was portraying in the book. I felt awful for Ruby; enduring a distant mother, getting shipped to a house of horrors, and then having to resume her life as if nothing happened - I couldn’t imagine. I truly enjoyed this book, I was highlighting and making so many notes.

Fiction is a great teacher, and this book will teach the reader a lot about what life was like for Black folks not even that long ago and sadly, not much has changed today. I read Yellow Wife from this author, and I was not disappointed. I love the way she tackles uncomfortable truths to tell the story of those with no voice. It’s a piece of history. I highly recommend this book. A phenomenal read!

This book told a story that highlights colorism within the negro race. It was a little s!ow getting started. I enjoyed the book even though this was not my genre. It was a book club pick

WOW, is all I have to say! Reading this book undoubtedly caused me to experience a wide range of emotions! Really well written, and I loved how everyone, in a way, had their happily ever after at the end!“I wrote this book for women like Georgia Mae, my grandmother Yvonne Clair, my great-grandmother Addie Murray and every woman who was forced to surrender her child either because of race, age, sexual abuse, shame or coercion. You are not alone. The House of Eve is for you.” -Sadequa Johnson

This novel is not necessarily a sequel but if you read the authors first book there is a common thread. I enjoyed the parallel stories of the characters. This book can be heavy it touches on very real things like sexual assault, violence, self harm, racism, sexism, classism.... heck all the isms. But it is masterfully done. If you like historical fiction, African American fiction, and drama check this out.

4.25stars I love historical fiction even when it makes you face hard truths. This is no exception. Set in 1949 and focused on young Ruby who falls in love with a young Jewish boy which is forbidden as she is black. She has dreams of getting a special scholarship that will allow her to go to college to become an optometrist. The book also focused on Eleanor a student at Howard University. She falls in love with William, a med student, who comes from a well off, important, influential black family. Ruby and Eleanor’s lives intertwine in an interesting and heartbreaking way. There is so much about this book that made me sad and angry. There are so many scars on the legacy of this country. This is well written and engaging. I can’t wait to read more from this author

I can’t give this novel less than 4 stars because it kept me reading and wanting to read more. But at the same time it occasionally felt like an easy beach read. It did immerse the reader into the racist laws and beliefs of the Jim Crow era. But at the same time cheapened itself to a romance novel level itself with multiple unnecessary sex scenes.Good page turning book but this isn’t at the top of my recommendation list.

This book was recommended to me. It was a heavy read for me but very necessary. I think it should be required to be read at the high school level.When you read this book you will see that the plight of African Americans have not been that long ago. It was in the 1950's that the author takes us through. The condtions for many African Americans were awful. It is no wonder why so many have not gotten ahead or be where they should be. Systematic racism is what is going on in this book and it has a ripple effects throughout the generations for African Americans.If Whites and Blacks were on equal footing, the United States would be very different in terms of race relations.The book follows a woman name Eleanor and a young girl name Ruby in her teens as they navigate life in different parts of the United States. Both women are faced with dilemmas that are thrown their way in which they have no control over unless you have money to either get what you and or get ahead.Colorism is also spoken about in this book. It is somewhat known in the African American community that light skin is preferred because it can open up more doors for you in a white dominated society. As a result some families prefer to marry those that are light skin and or as close as white .The book also discusses the big taboo of interracial dating. In this book, you have people who are on the lookout to make sure Blacks and Whites do not mix. After reading this story and perhaps I am being petty, I hope that people date and marry out of their own race as much as they can because Black women and black men were treated as smuck on the back of ones shoe if they so dared to be smitten with a white person.There is a story where a young Ruby liked this young Jewish boy. This was also a no no. The Jewish mother was upset and it is so strange that she had such hatred against Ruby when her own people were also exterminated by the Germans and Hitler. Make it make sense. But you know it does not make sense. Hatred does not make sense and should not existThe author also speaks about homes where young girls go to have their baby. From there the babies are adopted out and it is mandatory that they are adopted out. A lot of blame fell on the young girls if they got pregnant and they were labled as whores and sluts but I think it was ridiculous for them to not realize that these girls did not get pregnant by themselves. If people back in the 1900's would have valued life whether the girl was married or not then perhaps we would not have ended up with the legal killing of babies through Roe vs Wade.The author also briefly speaks on how women used barbaric methods to rid their bodies of their own child.As human we are supposed to be an intelligent being but yet we feel even today that it is okay to kill our own flesh and blood.There is an assumption that blacks cannot swim. In the book there is a quote in Chapter 21 that says, "We had to careful that they hadn't thrown nails at the bottom of the pool or acid or bleach in the water to dissuade us from coming back." This quote stands out because once again Blacks were being targeted and had no choice but to walk away from the pool with their tail between their legs; thereby; missing an opportunity to learn how to swim.People may look down on Blacks but this country had a systematic system that was against Blacks.Enjoy the read...

Reading “The House of Eve” often felt like a memory I had forgotten long ago. Sadeqa Johnson recreated an authentic time and space where unforgettable characters survived and thrived. The reader will feel, taste and smell each scene from the North Philly streets, a top HBCU campus to tony D.C. neighborhoods, to industrial Ohio.The scintillating big band sounds & vocals of Ella, Duke, & Cab played in my childhood home in 50’s era D.C. A teenaged friend “in the family way” was suddenly disappeared to a home for unwed mothers for months, returning alone. Aunties and cousins were like second mothers and sisters.Howard University’s women’s dorms in the 60’s were still formal, requiring curfews & weekend sign outs. Sororities were identified by a certain look. Founders Library housed an impressive archive of the African diaspora. Well heeled Black families sent their best and brightest.This story unrolled like a captivating slice of 1950’s African-American life. It revealed the struggles and hardships of those redlined to overcrowded, under-resourced communities as well as their determination to overcome these obstacles. It also captured the lives and struggles of the Black elite, whose education and good fortune was often defined by colorism & classism.This is another wonderful historical novel by the talented Sedeqa Johnson.

This book is so well written! I'm so in love with the characters. Even the villains were well developed. It's such an emotional journey without being exhausting. It was so sweet and each story captures all of your feelings and shakes them up as you read what happens next. Sadeqa Johnson has a brilliant imagination and I loved the ride! I enjoyed seeing the little Easter eggs from "The Yellow Wife" and I smiled to myself. I swooned each and every time William appeared, even his back made me melt. It's such a nice break from work, holiday rush and life stresses. I think the ending is perfect and rather than a continuance, I like the style of more of her work with a few peeks into the characters here and there. I get that other readers want a book two but I think the longing is a great place to stop and show up via new characters and stories from the mind of this awesome writer.I'm hesitant to read another book and ruin the lovely (William's favorite adjective) taste of this read on my brain.

The House of Eve by Sadequa JohnsonExcellent story by Sadequa Johnson! At times it was hard to read because the truth can sometimes be painful. About halfway through the book I began to piece together how the paths of Ruby and Elenore might pass.Eleanor was a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Ruby was a high schooler in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ruby lives with her aunt, Marie after her mother kicks her out. She works hard trying to receive a four-year scholarship to Cheney State University. Ruby was from a small town in Ohio. Her parents worked extremely hard to send her to Howard. Her mother baked cakes and other goodies to sell.While the story takes place in the late 1940s, I was relatively surprised that racism was alive and well in Philadelphia. I don’t know, I thought Phillie was fairly progressive, back in the day. Wrong! Although African Americans had their enclave in North Phillie, they had to shop in downtown Phillie for clothes. That was indeed a degrading experience.Eleanor had a different type of problem. She had to deal with colorism. That was absolutely not surprising to me. At Howard, she was given the side eye by her lighter-skinned schoolmates who were from the creme de la creme of Washington's elitist society. Eleanor didn’t meet the paper bag or the comb test.Both Eleanor and Ruby had to endure the consequences of their choices. Both were strong in their way and had to rely on their inner toughness to survive, then thrive in their situations.I loved this story! Sadequa used the vernacular of the era through her dialog. I was transported back in time. I could hear the music of the era in my ears. Her writing style was engaging. I will read her other books.