Child Bride

by Jennifer Smith Turner

In the segregated South of the mid-1900s, fourteen-year-old Nell bears witness to a world that embraces the oppression of women. She is fascinated with the prospect of being an independent person—but when she turns sixteen, she is married off and brought to the city of Boston as a bride.

Nell is a shy girl who must quickly learn how to be a wife and mother. She quickly discovers that she must acquire new skills to navigate the unknown territory of the North, as well as her relationship with her husband, Henry, who is controlling and emotionally abusive. After giving birth to three children, her body begins to fail her and Henry, concerned for her health, pulls away from her physically. But this void of intimacy drives Nell into the arms of another man.

It’s through her encounter with Charles in the church kitchen, at the point when she is most vulnerable, that Nell finds escape from her depressed life with Henry. The cost though, is another pregnancy. When Charles finds out the baby is his, at first it appears he plans to leave Nell; ultimately, however, his love for her brings him back.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, African American, Romance, Race, Black Literature, Book Club

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2021

Reviews

[Liz Lombard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book!! Jennifer writes so well that you can "feel" the words and "see" the characters and the locations. The manner in which she portrayed both Louisiana and Boston, MA made me feel like I was there. Her descriptions were so vivid!!!! Also, I truly enjoyed Nell's character and how she transformed over time. I viewed Nell as a "survivor" on so many levels. The book is steeped in historical culture and the dynamics of family relationships. The ending threw me for a bit of a loop but it was a happy ending for Nell and the children. Movie or screenplay next?

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a good read. Set in the segregated south, Nell was a 16 years old, married off to an older man and had to move to Boston. This was not the journey that Nell wanted. This is a story of racism, poverty, sexism, loneliness and survival with a happy ending

[Crystal (Melanatedreader) Forte' · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m finally done. Chile Bride was definitely a ride! #20booksbyblackwomen Think… 16 getting married to older man and moving north but has no idea what’s waiting on her once the ink dries 😩😩😩

[Purple Heart 💜 Book Queen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very enjoyable, educational and eye opening… Charles was Nell best thing since sliced bread and Henry was the dirt that he always cleaned of those shoes…. The Church can be a good and bad place as far as judgement is concerned….

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting! Some parts were definitely hard to read though and Nell is a really relatable protagonist. I did wish it was longer and the ending wasn't so rushed, but still a good read.

[Lisa Sunshine Book Babe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry such an asshole. I’m glad she got a happy ending though

[Shakila (BooksandThemes) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Child Bride starts with unbelievable sadness. I can't imagine being married off at the at of 16. Not know much of anything about yourself or how to be a girl becoming a woman. Not only that but being thrown into marriage and kept isolated as a wife. Of course, Nell had to grow up quickly! She experienced so much at a young age, an abusive, controlling husband, racism, and moving from her southern home to up north where things are completely different.

For the time period of the story, this was common, but this story shows Nell's growth and maturity. How she decides to fight for what she wants without letting her circumstances stop her. Though things were hard most of the time, she found a way and in the end, she found some happiness.

[Shadira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Child Bride was a riveting read that captured my attention from
beginning to the end. I loved the strong family connections and lessons.
I cringed at the women getting married at such a young age. But I
celebrated in the sisterhood that was highlighted when Nell arrived in
Boston . . . the beauty shop and church . . . two places where women
find refuge even today. I also appreciated the authenticity of how the
church could shun you but ultimately rebound with forgiveness. This was
truly a great novel, and I would eagerly read another book written by
this author.

Jennifer Smith Turner's fine sense of detail gives this story valuable
historical insight. . . . Turner's eye for small points carries through
this compelling story of one woman's coming-of-age journey. A fine book
for reading groups

[Autumn Crum · Rating 5 out of 5]

child bride

I really liked this book. It tells the story of Nell, a country bumpkin trying to find her place in the city as a young bride and mother. For Henry to be such a controlling man I found it odd that he was willing to give up his control over her and the kids so easily. Henry wasn’t a bad man. He just had a very delusional way of thinking when it came to gender roles and matrimony. The love affair with Charles was so very brief it left me unsatisfied. I wanted more!! It was like he got her pregnant then bam… He leaves. But I missed the developing love story. I’m happy that Nell found herself in the end. Very good read!

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tale is propelled by hope and accessibility. Though there are some complex themes such as; racism, underaged matrimony and childhood detachment the concise and approachable writing keeps you turning the pages.

[Elisha Packer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book left some things unanswered. For one, what was Henry’s deal? Why was he so protective over her? Then when she gets with Charles and gets pregnant, the book just feels rushed. I wanted more details on what happened. It was nicely written book, I just wanted more.

[Crystal R Craine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel

Excellent book. I didn't want the book to end. I hope the arthur writes a follow up book. I would love to know what happens to some of the other characters in the book.

[Beverly Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

B.Johnson

A good read. It flowed from beginning to end. This was my first buook from this
writer and will read others

[DOMANIC · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending was so good! I'm so happy for Nell I could cry!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read thought-provoking, character Nell played her part she was certainly before her time having speaking her mind even when women couldn't voice their own opinions.

Nell wanted more than being a child bride, to be more than just a mother but to be rightly so to dream and to carry out what's the best for her. A good read!!

[Tori Selph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her writing style was like poetry! Loved the story & felt it was an accurate storyline. Loved it all! One of the best reads in a long time.

[ShahadDocs271 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my perspective on historical fiction lol. The writing was phenomenal and the story was also an important and inspiring one. An aspect that resonated deeply with me was Nell’s reflection on the characters she reads about in her books 🥹 I love the relationship between her and her brother and parents too. I loved the theme of womanhood and women lifting each other. Highly recommend.

[L M Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Embraced me from cover to cover

I had no trouble getting into this book. Although this expeRience was not quite mine, me being English/ Afro/Caribbean . Ther÷ were still familiar feelings. The book evoked many familiar feelings that were good to reflect on. Enjoy

[Maya B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. I wish the ending didn't feel rushed. Good storyline and story kept my attention from start to finish

[Ramona Poole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully engaging

This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I’m glad I found her. Child Bride us a beautiful story of times gone by and how things don’t always work out the way we plan, sometimes it’s better and sometimes it’s worse. The key to life is to never give up.

This story brought back sad memories of childhood but gave me peace of mind as I continued to read. This is a great read. I look forward to reading other books from this author.

[Andrena G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Stunning Portrayal of Girlhood to Womanhood

Nell's story is bittersweet, as the reader is launched on a journey from her years as a childhood bride and baby-making machine, to an enlightened young woman who, in rejecting the prison created for her by her emotionally abusive husband, she seeks solace in another man's arms. The fallout from Nell's indiscretion and the loss of her beloved parents combine to make her life painful to navigate until she discovers the inner strength that had lain dormant for so long. Nell's story also ventures into the realm of Black Civil Rights and Women's History as Nell untangles her quest for autonomy during her search for basic human love and affection. Although not all of the novel's central characters are as vividly drawn as Nell, the author still manages to weave a tale that holds the reader's interest from beginning to end.

[Chris Hart · Rating 2 out of 5]

How inauthentic can one novel be? “Child Bride” attempts to find out. I don’t give brownie points for race or gender, so this review is based on the actual novel.

Almost everything about this novel comes across as cloying and superficial, while trying to be a gripping account of a young black woman during the Jim Crow era who marries young and moves with her emotionally abusive husband from a farm in Louisiana to Boston.

That plot line could have been an effective way to highlight the struggles of African-Americans during that time, but instead we get a whiny chick lit novel of her “finding her true self” (which incidentally involves an extramarital affair and a bastard child) and pretty much staying the same dependent girl that she was in the beginning of the novel, although with the man she had the hots for.

There are paragraph-long soliloquies, mostly by Nell, but occasionally other characters as well. I understand that Ms Turner writes poetry, but prose needs a different touch on the word processor.

And speaking of inauthentic, how’s this for a load of garbage: “When you left, I felt joy, knowing that you’d taken off on the adventure that had been tugging at your insides since you were five years old. You may have come from the farm, but you were never meant for the farm like the rest of us. We wear the dust, seed, animals and hot air of this place like it’s our second skin. For you it was just a covering meant to be removed at will, no more permanent than a hooded slicker on a rain-soaked day.” Ok, you may think, what’s so bad about that? Well, consider that is a quote from a posthumous letter from Nell’s mother. Nell’s mother was an illiterate black woman in Louisiana, probably born in the 1890s or a little earlier. So definitely inauthentic.

Ms Turner also presents Boston circa 1960 as some haven of race comity. Uh, no. And just tossing in a throwaway line five pages before the end of the story. about racism being present but covered up more doesn’t cut it.

There’s lots more, but I don’t feel like writing any more about this book. If you want a fluffy chick lit novel, this one will fit the bill. If you want a substantive novel about black women, keep looking.

[Elise Browne]

Hi,
This book warmed my heart over and over for the poetic imagery that made me feel witness to the entire story. Although it took place in the past, I knew the complex issues that women deal with still to this day in relationships, coming of age and migrating to new places.

Jennifer Smith Turner provided insight to racist attitudes that persist today without bogging down the issues within the story. For anyone unfamiliar with the migration of Black people from the South to the North Child Bride: A Novel, highlights the considerations and issues that families struggled with.
I highly recommend this book for all ages.
Elise Browne

[Story Circle Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is 1955 on a small Black-owned farm in rural Louisiana, the home of 14-year-old Nell Jones. The youngest of 12 children, Nell quietly observes the lives of the females in her immediate environment: her mother, her married sisters, and the young wives of her married brothers. They have all followed the same path: early marriage followed by multiple pregnancies and staying home to raise their children and keep house.

This is not the future life Nell wants. Speaking of these women, she says early on: “But I didn't want to be like them. It seems there must be more to life than lying on your back for a man, getting a swelled belly, having a baby suck your nipple, and working away in the kitchen.”

How many women throughout history have felt that way, or expressed those same sentiments? One is immediately left with the anticipation of Nell breaking through that chauvinistic life plan and accomplishing more noble things. On her own terms.

The author, Jennifer Smith Turner, takes Nell on an unexpected journey. We witness Nell being married off at 16 to Henry Bight, who whisks her off to a small, dingy apartment in Boston. Henry is ten years older and controlling, summed up in his words to Nell, “Stay home, do as I say. Understand?”

But Nell doesn't understand.

How Nell deals with her confining and lonely existence is the conflict in Turner's novel. Nell's personality is revealed more through her thoughts than actions. After suddenly giving birth at home to her first child, Turner poetically describes Nell's trapped mindset with these visual words: “But on the inside of my eyelids the mosaic of my life began to form—it resembled rivulets of birth-waste splashed on the floor.”

I wanted Nell to break free in some dramatic fashion from her present and smothering stay-at-home existence. However, Turner does not satisfactorily address this dilemma, as she conveniently introduces another character into Nell's life, Charles Johnson, whom she first meets at church. Turner does not spend as much time rounding out Charles' personality as she deftly does with Henry's. The most one learns about Charles is that he is a handsome post-grad law student Nell becomes attracted to. This is the relationship that ultimately changes Nell’s life.

Turner wraps up Nell's story in such a convenient manner, I was left wondering if the author tired of Nell along the way, hurriedly wrapping up to end the story. Because Turner fails to develop a concrete vision for Nell—a personal journey with a realistic goal to self-fulfillment—one never knows what it is that Nell wants to accomplish with her life outside of marriage. I expected more of the main character, and wasn't satisfied with the ending. The author certainly has the talent to expand the main character's horizon but fails to do so.

The writing itself flowed along smoothly, and the book is an engaging read.

Story Circle Book Reviews thanks Paula Schaffer Robertson for this review.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few months ago I read an excerpt from this book and was excited to read the whole thing. The narrator/protagonist is 16 when she marries and moves hundreds of miles away from her family of origin. Her new life is not the adventure she was hoping for, however. Isolated and lonely, she has babies and longs for the family she left behind.

The first 2/3 of the book are interesting. The setting is a city about which there are few novels about the black migrant population there. The author gives the protagonist a clear, strong voice that is believable.

The problems with the book come in the latter 1/3. One issue is a sloppiness in the details, the most glaring of which is the placement of the 16th St. Baptist Church bombing in Mississippi, when it occurred In Birmingham, Alabama. (Of course, writers can and do fictionalize historic events. In this case, it is presented as a news story without direct relevance to the plot. There was no reason to relocate this tragedy, leaving the reader to conclude that this was a lack of attentiveness on the part of the author and the editor.)

The larger issues are with the story being told. The solution the protagonist finds to her situation is more fairy tale than real life. And although some interesting class dynamics are introduced to the story at this point, the writer merely uses them as setting, ignoring the issues that would have arisen from them and abandoning her protagonist’s believability. The characters introduced later in the book are cartoonish, developed only well enough to convey the stock characters they represent. I finished the book with the sense that the author had written herself into a corner and didn’t know how to move forward, instead falling back on an overused trope. For a book that starts with such promise, this is a disappointing way to end.

[Judykulakofsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this story, the tale of Nell's naiveté growing up in a loving family, to her rude awakening as a young woman fending for herself and her children. Her discovery of her true self is an undertaking of defiance and bravery.

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nell is a young girl growing up in the segeregated South on a farm in Louisiana . Her teacher Miss Parker teaches her a love of reading. When she is 16 , she is betrothed to Henry 10 years her senior. He whisks her off to Boston, There she discovers a library and women friends Ginny and others who are beauticians. Henry however just wants her to breed sons and is cruel and unforgiving. Nell has three children by him but is told by doctors she should not have any more children since her body is too weak. Henry turns away from her and she finds love with Charles a fellow parishner. Told from Nell's point of view , this is very well written.

[Pamela Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Into the world of a child bride

The words in “Child Bride” were tough pills to swallow. So much of her experience was counter to my spirit and my values. But, press on and experience resolution. While there are not many pages, it covers a lot of ground. I ultimately enjoyed the experience.

[Pd Mckoin]

I enjoyed this historical coming of age, love
story. Nell an intelligent farm girl, leaves her loving family and the racism of the Deep South. As a young bride she moves to Boston only to lose her freedom and herself. Through strong, women who befriend her and loving support of family, Nells’ resilience triumphs. A positive twist on complicated relationships. This was a pleasurable read.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-1/2 stars! What a wonderful story, beautifully written...I look forward to reading this author's next book.