Review of Deceptive Calm
Posted: 20 Jul 2025, 18:33
[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.]
Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper is an incredible story. Every moment that I could read even a page of this book, I took it. This story was absolutely gripping on every page, leaving me constantly in suspense. The book follows the life of a young orphan woman, and the trials she faces as not only an orphan and a Catholic, but also as a woman raised Black during the era of Jim Crow while not fitting the Black profile. It traverses different parts of the USA and has different outlooks on color, gender, status, and wealth. The story covers important details surrounding the idea of history as a subject that, in my opinion, all people should learn about.
The author did an incredible job of painting vivid imagery of very important and controversial historical topics that affect society to this day. While the vocabulary in the book is certainly not for readers under 18, the author skillfully uses seemingly vulgar words to depict reality for some people. She wrote in such a way that even when a scene made me queasy, I could not put the book down because I had to know what happened next.
While the author did an incredible job of storytelling, I would recommend that the book go through another round of editing just to be a hair more professional. There were a few typing errors that made reading some lines a tad difficult. All in all, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 and strongly recommend it to others. The book was phenomenal and the only reason it isn't a perfect 5 is because the typing errors made me do a few double takes before I could proceed with the story.
Due to the adult verbiage and graphic scenes, I would not recommend this book to children or those who are particularly sensitive, but I will certainly be recommending it to many people.
Nearing the end of the book, I glanced to see I was only ten pages from finishing the story and couldn’t believe that it was going to be over. I was enjoying it so much I was sure I would be grief-stricken by its end, but alas, the author wrapped the story up nicely and left me feeling satisfied in the end. I can’t wait to start talking about this book with my friends.
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Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper is an incredible story. Every moment that I could read even a page of this book, I took it. This story was absolutely gripping on every page, leaving me constantly in suspense. The book follows the life of a young orphan woman, and the trials she faces as not only an orphan and a Catholic, but also as a woman raised Black during the era of Jim Crow while not fitting the Black profile. It traverses different parts of the USA and has different outlooks on color, gender, status, and wealth. The story covers important details surrounding the idea of history as a subject that, in my opinion, all people should learn about.
The author did an incredible job of painting vivid imagery of very important and controversial historical topics that affect society to this day. While the vocabulary in the book is certainly not for readers under 18, the author skillfully uses seemingly vulgar words to depict reality for some people. She wrote in such a way that even when a scene made me queasy, I could not put the book down because I had to know what happened next.
While the author did an incredible job of storytelling, I would recommend that the book go through another round of editing just to be a hair more professional. There were a few typing errors that made reading some lines a tad difficult. All in all, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 and strongly recommend it to others. The book was phenomenal and the only reason it isn't a perfect 5 is because the typing errors made me do a few double takes before I could proceed with the story.
Due to the adult verbiage and graphic scenes, I would not recommend this book to children or those who are particularly sensitive, but I will certainly be recommending it to many people.
Nearing the end of the book, I glanced to see I was only ten pages from finishing the story and couldn’t believe that it was going to be over. I was enjoying it so much I was sure I would be grief-stricken by its end, but alas, the author wrapped the story up nicely and left me feeling satisfied in the end. I can’t wait to start talking about this book with my friends.
******
Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon