The Color of Your Skin Ain't the Color of Your Heart

Book 3 in the Shenandoah Sisters series is the most exciting of the 4. This is a sweet and uplifting story about growing up and making the best of sometimes unfortunate circumstances. This is a good book for anyone, but especially for young Christian women.

This is another wonderful entry in the Shenandoah Sisters series. Together Katie, Mayme, Emma, and Aleta are doing well running the plantation until men after Uncle Ward's gold interfere. The writing was again powerful and moving. I love the relationship between all of the girls, because it was well developed and rich. I was a little disappointed in a certain plot device I won't specifically name for spoilers sake. It seemed a bit of a stretch, although Mayme's reaction to it was amazing, and something I had never thought of before. I was also glad to see that Phillips didn't give in to another plot device by killing Uncle Templeton. I'm very curious to see how the next book will be with the additional of an adult to the household, plus the interference of another uncle. Henry is a powerful character that I enjoy reading about, but I don't believe that I ever saw Mayme tell Henry and Jeremiah about her ancestry. Their reactions were missing in an otherwise strong book.

What a unique way to view the reconstruction period after the Civil War but through the eyes of young people affected with the changes the war brought about. The third book in this series is full of suspense, distressing moments and a time of truth for Katie, the Rosewood Plantation's 16 year old mistress and for Mayme,17, a former slave. In this book they must face flood waters, thieving evil men and Uncle Templeton. Katie and Mayme finally allow Henry and Jeremiah into their secret about the plantation only being run by four girls. They promise to look out for them and to keep their secret. Mayme had heard Katie talk about her drifter Uncle Templeton, but when she first met him, she was puzzled why he kept looking at her but then turn away without saying anything. Soon he takes off again. When the bad guys show up, the girls, who had practiced what they needed to do to protect the plantation, were ready for the face off with the aid of Henry and Jeremiah. It was at this time that Uncle Templeton shows up again only to be gunned down. The ringleader is killed by Henry and Uncle Templeton is treated for his wounds. Uncle Templeton vows to stay and assist in running the plantation if they will accept him when they learn of the secret he has been carrying for 17 years. It was a very emotional time for Katie and Mayme but as always their faith and their sisterly bond strengthen their resolve to continue on through life's journey. They have succeeded running the plantation for 2 years now to bring in the cotton crop necessary to pay the debts on Rosewood Plantation. As the plot thickens what conclusions will the next book in this series bring to the Shenandoah Sisters?

Katie and Mayme are still at the plantation with their three charges and are yet convincing most people they are not just kids running a big spread. However, a few townspeople are finding out and they have a huge surprise visitor with even bigger news. Just when it seems things cannot get any bleaker, the author throws the reader a whole other twist. Mayme gets the biggest surprise of her 16 yr. life and the news changes the whole dynamics of the plantation. Katie is contending with the terrible burden of meeting the payments on her mother's loan. Can the "miracle" she found be true? Can and will they be allowed to stay? Greed, gold and corruption were just as prevalent then as now and the girls have no way knowing who or what to trust. Jeremiah and his father Henry are their best connections and also best protectors for the time being. I have already bought the next book in the series and can hardly wait to start it. Thanks Tracie Peterson for another great, historical series.

In book three of the Shenandoah Girls Series, THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN AIN'T THE COLOR OF YOUR HEART, Michael Phillips continues the story of Mayme and Katie, two young girls, one a recently freed slave, and the other white, as they strive to survive alone on a North Carolina plantation. In this book, the girls survive a devastating flood, encounter unwelcomed and hostile visitors, and must come up with money to pay off a loan or risk losing their home. Henry and his son Jeremiah, also freed slaves, check in on the girls at the plantation regularly, providing assistance, protection and oftentimes, sound advice. In spite of the difficulties they encounter, Mayme and Katie are reunited with friends and family, discover new, shocking family connections, and for the first time a hint of romance enters their lives. Having had the privilege of reading the first two books in the Shenandoah Girls series, I feel I can positively assert that this is the best book in the series. Although, THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN AIN'T THE COLOR OF YOUR HEART could stand alone and be a decent read for those unfamiliar with the series, the emotional intensity of the book is heightened by the ongoing relationship readers have developed as they progress through each book in the collection. In this book, the author does a good job presenting well-rounded characters. Henry, a recently freed slave, plays a more prominent role in the story and portrays a smart, deeply spiritual, kind-hearted man, who is only limited by the social limitations that he internalized and the society in which he lived. Henry's son Jeremiah represents a newly freed slave from a different perspective, in that he is young, has big dreams and isn't less accepting of the status quo than Mayme and Henry. The external pressures of financial difficulties, racism, and the revealing of secrets seemed to regularly creep into the colorless microcosm of society they created on the plantation, yet with Henry's spiritual guidance and the emergence of a new father figure the "family" continues to thrive and the girls develop a deeper understanding of God. Emotional, humorous, and spiritually uplifting Michael Phillips has created another heartwarming gem.Reviewed by Stacey Seay of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers