Whitewashed

Questions pelted me like hail in a summer storm. What if my suspicions were true? What if Poppa…and Moses…? I needed to analyze the facts. Just like Pastor Thomas said about Esther, I needed to find the truth.

God help me. For once, I don’t want to see.

I had no choice.

Book: Whitewashed: On The Brink Series, Book One by Amy C. Blake, Mantle Rock Publishing, 2015

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 16-20

Subjects: Truth, Family Relationships, Revenge, Crime, Slavery

Summary: It started generations ago with a cruel man who wasn’t afraid to murder or rape. The desperate did what they could to survive, but when he passed that legacy on to his son, hope died. Now, his descendants have had enough and are out to exact revenge. But which one? Is it the old slave who has been cheated out of his medical insurance by his employer? Is it the school president who seems a little out of it? Is it the old woman caught up in the seventies décor and disgusting flirtations with the young college students? Is it her own grandfather? 

Patience defied her parents wishes to go to the college she dreamed of attending since she was a young child. What she learns during her first semester is far more than academics though. Someone is pilfering money from the school and trying to cover it up. The deeper she digs though, the more dangerous it gets, especially when she learns that she herself is a descendent of Adonijah Thompson, the wicked man who left the legacy of hatred and evil that is now ruining the school built on the foundation of his plantation. Just how far will his legacy spread? Will it result in yet another death?

Notes: Whitewashed is the first in the On The Brink series. This story is one of those that tells both the present and the past story stories. Throughout the course of the book we learn more of what happened during the Civil War with Adonijah, his twin sons and his slaves. One son rejected his legacy of evil and not only did not murder and rape his slaves, but set them free and educated them. The other son came home from the war and killed his brother and raped one of his slaves, creating another line of descendents. The present time story is a young girl straight out of high school going to live with her grandparents and attend the local college. Eventually someone shows her a family tree that displays how she too is connected to all the things going on at the college. All the major players in the situation are related in some way or another to the same ancestor – including her. The book becomes a mystery as she seeks to figure out who is committing the crimes and becomes in danger of losing her life. The spiritual issue is all about truth. Patience prides herself on honesty and even advises a new friend “At least try to find the truth. It’s your only hope.” But when she finds her life in danger she recognizes that she has not been honest. She’s been lying to herself. She is a very impatient person and has convinced herself that it’s ok to be impatient and therefore rude, but her impatience has led her straight into trouble and could very well have hurt other people she cares about. The other strong spiritual element is when the character has a good discussion with someone about what freedom in Christ means. She had a friend she started pursuing drugs because he wanted to have “freedom” and wound up dying of an overdose. So when a classmate claims to be a Christian but wanting “freedom” and viewing her parents and others in church as hypocrites for denying her “freedom in Christ”, Patience really gives her a lot to think about. The freedom she is seeking has led to an abusive boyfriend who demands she answer the phone every single time he calls – to the point where she isn’t allowed by him to study and is about to fail her classes. He also physically abuses her. But he “understands her” so she stays. Patience challenges that belief and tells her to get out of the relationship and turn back to Christ – to actually read all of the Bible and study it instead of just spouting one verse out of context. The spiritual messages definitely come across in a very strong and powerful manner.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

John 8:31-32 - To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I enjoyed it!