Full Review from my blog Owl Eyes Reviews

I remember watching the movie adaptation of this book quite a while ago and really enjoy it. I picked up this book with the memory of the movie in mind. (I also picked it up because I was in the mood for something historical fiction-y.)
I really enjoyed Lily’s strong voice. She had my attention right from the start of the book, however, after a while, I got somewhat bored. I think a big part of the reason I got bored was because I remembered a lot more from the movie then I thought I would. The writing was beautiful, and Lily’s voice was captivating, but I wasn’t surprised by anything in the plot.
I had a few personal problems with Lily’s perception of color and race. It’s sometimes hard for me to take the historical aspect in when reading books set in this time period. I tried really hard with this one, but it’s importing for me to be honest. And, if I’m honest, there were parts in this book where I was slightly uncomfortable because of the things Lily would say.
I was completely mesmerised when August told stories of any kind. I was very aware of how many pages I had read throughout every part of the books except for when August was telling a story.
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. A big part of it is because I didn’t realize how much of the plot I remembered from the movie. Everything that was supposed to be surprising didn’t surprise me at all. My favorite part about this book was August. Without her, this book would have fallen flat.