Review: The Secrets of Mary Bowser

The Secrets of Mary Bowser: A Novel by Lois Leveen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now I am not usually into history books, but this one had me from the beginning. I read all the author notes at the back first, so I had a bit of knowledge beforehand. Mary was a young girl, her parents were slaves and she probably she would end up having the same life. However, as her mom said, Jesus had plans for her.

Her mother's owner, the Van Lews, their daughter Bet bought Mary and her mother from her parents, then freed them. However, her father wasn't freed from his master. Bet wanted the best for Mary, so she paid for Mary to go to school up North. Mary has a wonderful gift though. She can repeat anything read or said verbatim.

Which will come in handy in the second half of the story. The first half is all background and the building up --- Lois Leveen did an excellent job with Mary's story, at least in my opinion. I know there isn't a lot of history written down about slaves, and a woman at that. But I found this book thrilling and I couldn't wait to turn the page! You will want to cheer Mary on till the very end.

I hope Lois Leveen continues to write. I enjoyed this book immensely!

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