Official Review: Rose's Legacy by Marsha Hood

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Rose's Legacy" by Marsha Hood.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Doty's mother was Chippewa, and her father was white. They divorced, and her mother left when Doty was eight years old. Doty was poorly treated by other children and not accepted because she was a half-breed. Two years later, they moved to Idaho, and her dad married Trudy, a white woman. Her stepmother never cared for her, especially after her sister was born. Doty spent most of her time with her grandmother, Betsy, who loved her. At the age of 17, Doty married Fred, who became an abusive husband. There was nowhere for her to turn because her father disowned her when she married Fred against his wishes. One of their children was stillborn, two starved to death, and Annabel and Carolyn were the only surviving children when Rosy was born. Rosy grows up through the Great Depression, where poverty and hunger reign. Doty struggles with their father's alcoholism and his verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. This book is their story of survival and wonderment of where God was in their lives. Does a loving God allow bad things to happen? Why does God not love them? Do they all survive? Read Rose's Legacy: Victim or Victory by Marsha Hood to follow their journey.

The positive aspects of this book are many. Marsha Hood includes real-life events that readers can relate to and understand why Doty and her family questioned the existence of God. The reader can feel the poverty, hunger, abuse, confusion, prejudice, and fear that the characters experience. There are scriptures throughout the book that explain God and how he works concerning our expectations of him. The author has a firm understanding of what life was like during the Great Depression and the long-reaching impact of abuse on the victims. It was a time in our history when women did not leave their husbands, regardless of the circumstances, and everything was private. It was very different from today, where many people post all of their problems on Facebook. Ms. Hood's development of the characters is impressive and allowed me to visualize each of the characters. I was able to understand each of them on an individual basis.

The negative aspect is that nonreligious people may not read this book and miss out on the book's critical messages regarding abuse and alcoholism. The atrocities in the book do not only happen to religious people, and they may seek alternatives other than God to find their solutions. The information in this action-packed book will help anyone who has suffered from any form of abuse.

This is a well-written book with a smooth-flowing plot. Unfortunately, I can only give this book 3 out of 4 stars due to the number of mistakes I found. There are over ten errors, and a sentence is repeated once, which distracted from my reading. I will not give it a lower rating because it is a good book, and once a professional editor has edited it, it will be deserving of the maximum stars.

I recommend this book to adult readers of historical fiction who enjoy reading about the despair and poverty of the Great Depression. The mental, physical, and sexual abuse content are not suitable for younger readers. Although it is not graphic, it does involve children. The small amount of profanity is borderline. Although people who believe in God will benefit the most, I also recommend the book to people who are not religious because of the messages about alcoholism and abuse. If a reader does not believe in God, they can overlook those sections as they will not accept them anyway. They will still take something away from the book.

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Rose's Legacy
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[El_limitless]

Interesting plot. I'd love to know what became of rose at the end of the day. I will read to find out what rose's legacy is. Great review.

[Peace Odii]

Doty's character seems to be my intrigue about this novel. I'll check it out.

[Mtibza eM]

Oh, how sad it is. I think I will have to get this book so I can experience first hand Doty's trials and tribulations. Thank you for being so insightful and honest. Great review it is.

[Becca Olsson]

It’s so sad that anyone would be referred to as a half-breed or that any children would be pushed to the side or abused and abandoned. But the scriptures throughout sounds like it gives the book a positive message of hope. Thanks for the great review!

[onyii_review]

Seemed Doty really went through a lot. Thanks for the review.

[Elendu Ekechukwu]

Doty must be very strong to pass through all that and still come out strong.