Stacey ˗ ღ ˎˊ˗’s Reviews > Burn Down Master's House > Status Update

“Storm’s just noise,” Harriet said. “We’ve been through worse.”

I’ve already decided when I write my review, I am not including any TW. Yes, the book is violent. It’s a book; it’s just noise. The real violence is happening in the world around us - the author’s hope in writing this book is to inspire readers to react, protect and defend, and keep our community from going through worse.

“… the real fear isn’t Black and Brown people knowing their history - it’s young White children being inspired. The possibility that they might see themselves not in the oppressors, but in the rebels, the freedom fighters, the ones who dared to demand a better, more just world. That’s why this novel is for everyone, a story not confined to race or ancestry, but rooted in a universal struggle.”

“There is a power in retelling stories of liberation. When a society reclaims its past, when it knows that rebellion has happened and can happen again, it not only shatters the manipulative force of misinformation but also steps closer to building a future in which oppressive systems can be undone. Remembering an act of opposition.”

FUCK ICE
RIP Renee Good

The Baynards’ fear turned to hysteria. Lady Baynard kicked her feet, her voice breaking into a soprano wail, her demure presentation falling to pieces. “You gonna burn in hell for this!”

“I already burned,” Josephine responded. “Rose from the fire.”

Old Mama Bess grinned, her crow’s feet becoming more detailed. “I believe the Lord put it in my hands to do His work. No sin in fighting for your freedom. No sin in taking back what they stole. You think they care about your soul? They don’t. But I do. And I’ll be damned if I leave this world without seeing you free.”

Mistress Kitty…was blind to her complicity. Her unearned place in a world that valued skin over character was her cover, her shield. But she was also a woman, and that meant she was not a full citizen. She was owned by a man who saw her as a keeper of his house…Her womanhood was a brand, marking her as property, but she saw no solidarity with Ruby. Mistress Kitty was both the oppressor and the oppressed.

This is going to be hard but an amazing read