Laila Ibrahim's Golden Poppies: A Captivating Tale of Love and Loss

Phoenix Rising: I enjoyed Yellow Crocus, Mustard Seed, and Golden Poppies. I wish Golden Poppies ended with more of what happened in Naomi's and Sadie's lives though.

United States on Nov 14, 2023

Robbie: I dont think I have ever cried so much while reading a book. I cried for the black and white women. Oh, the trials the black race has endured. And the white women were 2nd class citizens as well, but make no mistake, the blacks were treated abominably.

United States on Sep 22, 2023

Cheryl Graham: The story started out on a slow pace but slowly began to develop and grow. We see the gradual growth of the main characters as they become just as moving and important as the character development in the prequels. The ending came to a climax then comes crashing down to an unexpected heart wrenching end. Certainly worth the time to read.

United States on Aug 16, 2023

jcasciato: Interesting story that continues the series, moving from Virginia to California. Exciting moments and heart wrenching twists, uniting the various families to confront troubles and overcome obstacles.

United States on Aug 13, 2023

Beatriz Grisel Suris: This story touched my heart more than I expected. It only seems yesterday that women were fighting to get the right to vote. It seems poignant that we still fighting discrimination when we are all God’s children. The scene where Heinrich is dangling his child by the window really touched me that a father could do that to his child! I hope that we can live long enough to see discrimination be wiped from the earth. Beautifully written!

Spain on Jun 14, 2023

Lori: I wanted to wait to write a review until I finished reading the entire series. I enjoyed each book and became very attached to these characters. Injustice and unspeakable treatment of slaves before, during and after the Civil War was horrifying. Yet through these stories, Mattie’s family and Lisabeth’s were intertwined from the moment they were brought together as slave nursing a newborn baby in the Big House as Mattie was forced to leave her newborn son in the quarters. Mattie showed unbelievable courage to escape with her baby girl on her back after her husband and son escaped to Ohio. With the help of the Underground Railroad through a harrowing journey, she eventually rejoined her family. Through the generations they held close to hope and their unwavering faith for a better life for themselves and all colored people. There was much love and strength, sadness and loss between these families, black and white, where circumstances kept bringing them together. We’ve come a long way since the 1800’s but not far enough. We still have a long way to go for equality for all Americans. May we continue to plant the seeds of hope for a better life for all!

United States on Mar 10, 2023

Kindle Customer: The book is unique.It traces the racial disparities in America and the social life of those days.It ends on a positive note.A well written book.

India on Sep 13, 2022

Sandra: This is a great follow on from The Yellow Crocus and The Mustard Seed. It is now set at the end of the 1800’s . The characters from the first two books are now older Lisbeth her daughter Sadie, Jordan and her daughter Naomi set the story. It covers the time in USA when women were trying tog get votes for women and how unfair the rights for the Blacks were with regard to jobs and pay.. This is. Wonderful book that I couldn’t put down I absolutely loved it and hope there will be a 4th book in this series as I want to know what happens to the characters next. Thank you Laila I got so much enjoyment from it. Perfect for the current COVID pandemic I bought all three books for
my twin sister on our birthday in June. She is loving the first one
.

United Kingdom on Jul 29, 2020

Amazon Customer: Having already read both of the preceding books in this series, I was intrigued to see how life progressed for the characters who had grabbed my attention and interest in them. I was not disappointed in the least, and found it particularly appropriate to be following the fight of women in America to obtain the right to vote, and, at the same time, the fight of African Americans to achieve any degree of equality following the official end of slavery. What is equally sad is that, at this very time, so many years on from when the novel is set, people in the US and elsewhere are still being treated as second class citizens, despite having officially obtained equality long ago. In my teenage years, when we marched against apartheid and for Civil Rights and Women's Liberation, none of us would have dreamt that we would still be fighting the same battle 50 years on. Yet, there is hope in this work, as what always strikes me is that it is only in getting to know and understand people of all nationalities, creeds and colours, that we can ever overcome our fears and preconceptions, and Leila Ibrahim's characters exemplify how this change is brought about.

United Kingdom on Jun 27, 2020

Boingboing: I read Laila Ibrahim's 'Yellow Crocus' several years ago and found it really enjoyable. When I spotted that one of this month's Amazon Prime First Reads was another of her books, I grabbed it without hesitation. When I realised it was a continuation of the 'Yellow Crocus' characters, I was even happier with my choice - although I have to admit I did read the whole thing without realising I'd missed the volume that goes between 'Yellow Crocus' and 'Golden Poppies'. The great thing is that I didn't need to have read 'Mustard Seed' (the middle book) or to have any detailed memory of 'Yellow Crocus' in order to enjoy this one.

If you ask me "Can I read this without reading the others?" I'd say you can, but you might get a bit more context if you've read at least one of the previous books.

In 'Yellow Crocus' Ibrahim took on the issues of slavery and the ownership and abuse of other human beings. Time has passed and 'Golden Poppies' is set in the late 1800s, at a time when slavery is no more, but prejudice is still rife. It focuses on the cross-racial relationships and friendships of the two families descended from Mattie the black slave-woman who was wet nurse to Lisbeth,...

United Kingdom on May 03, 2020