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Darkest Child
Darkest Child | Delores Phillips
A new edition of this award-winning modern classic, with a new introduction by Tayari Jones, an excerpt from the never before seen follow-up, and discussion guide. Pakersfield, Georgia, 1958: Thirteen-year-old Tangy Mae Quinn is the sixth of ten fatherless siblings. She is the darkest-skinned among them and therefore the ugliest in her mother, Rozelle's, estimation, but she's also the brightest. Rozelle--beautiful, charismatic, and light-skinned--exercises a violent hold over her children. Fearing abandonment, she pulls them from school at the age of twelve and sends them to earn their keep for the household, whether in domestic service, in the fields, or at "the farmhouse" on the edge of town, where Rozelle beds local men for money. But Tangy Mae has been selected to be part of the first integrated class at a nearby white high school. She has a chance to change her life, but can she break from Rozelle's grasp without ruinous--even fatal--consequences?
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KateReadsYA
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips

𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞.

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KateReadsYA
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Taking a break from Horrror and Fantasy to read some Historical Fiction! Does anyone else sometimes get burnt out reading the same genres?! Hope you all have a happy Sunday. ☕️

LiteraryinPA Yes, that happens to me when I read too many thrillers in a row or too much YA. 14mo
Ruthiella I definitely like to mix it up! 14mo
Bookwomble Yeah, I like to have a few different genres on the go to match my shifting moods. 14mo
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Jari-chan Same! 14mo
Reggie Yes. A couple of Octobers ago, I got horrored out. I had to change my last week of reading to something else. It shocked me. Lol 14mo
LatrelWhite Love that book. Read it many many years ago!💕 14mo
KateReadsYA @LatrelWhite I'm really enjoying her writing style. Do you have any recommendations similar to this one? 14mo
LatrelWhite Yes another is “Perfect Peace” by Daniel Black I love all his books but this one in particular because I love the cover! 🧡 14mo
KateReadsYA @LatrelWhite Thank you. It sounds like a very emotional book. I've added it to my tbr 14mo
57 likes9 comments
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S3V3N
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

Yooooooooo, this book had me using profanity. I was wide eyed on some parts and just shocked at times. Great story although it was sad.

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S3V3N
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Mama washed the last dish she ever intended to wash.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

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Tamra
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

Well, the writing is very good, but holy cow the violence is over the top! 😵

I need some fluff to rinse out my brain.

Cathythoughts Oh that sounds hard going… 💔 3y
Tamra @Cathythoughts it really was and I‘m sure there is that kind of dysfunction in real families so that makes it especially difficult to absorb. 😐 3y
66 likes2 comments
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Tamra
Darkest Child | Delores Phillips
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Have you ever read something you wanted to get over with as quickly as possible, but at the same don‘t want to bail on because you want to see how it ends??? The abuse in this book is horrific and keeps coming as a surprise even though it shouldn‘t. I think that‘s probably what it‘s like to live with. ☹️

jewright Since I had kids, I can‘t handle anything like that. 3y
Tamra @jewright yes! It‘s really hard to take. I‘ve noticed I‘m far more sensitive now about what I‘m reading and viewing than I ever have before. 3y
Cathythoughts Very difficult reading 💔 3y
68 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Tamra
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Halfway through this and 😳. It‘s very hard reading.

The demon is the mother.

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S3V3N
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Love my black history swap gifts! #blitsy #blackhistorymonthswap @GreenGrl87

BookDee That‘s a good book 5y
S3V3N @BookDee I can‘t wait to read it. 5y
See All 7 Comments
GreenGrl87 @BeaG glad everything arrived and you enjoyed your gifts! 5y
S3V3N @GreenGrl87 yes and thank you! 5y
EchoLogical @GreenGrl87 Where did you get this copy of the Darkest Child? I wanted to send it to my match but I couldn't find a copy for less than $60 and I was devastated. I read it in college and never forgot about it. 5y
GreenGrl87 @EchoLogical I found this one at Half Priced Books, but I believe I saw it on Amazon too 5y
21 likes7 comments
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SanjanaGhosh
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Mehso-so

A very tragic story from the beginning to the end!!

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cherinium
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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I missed yesterday, so here is my #adventrecommends for Day 7. @emilyrose_x

An eye opening look at how skin color can be judged even by a mother. I was heartbroken as I listened to this #audiobook about how "the darkest child" was singled out and treated differently in a poor black family.

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BookDee
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
Mehso-so

Good story bad ending, a heavy read... but someone informed me that there was suppose to be a sequel but the author died 🙏🏾

cherinium I listened to the #audiobook for this one and was deeply moved. I don't recall being disappointed by the ending, but it was a while ago. 5y
BookDee The sister died in the fire and the mother got away with it. 5y
4 likes2 comments
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NKB2830
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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My weekend read! 🧐💕

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erinjohns
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
Pickpick

Absolutely heartbreaking from start to finish. Exceptionally well-written...believable. The brokenness of this family was revealed page by page. This will book will make you feel a host of emotions.

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kellyann28
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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This sounds like a fun thing to do, thanks @howjessreads
This is my Day 1 post for #31bookpics : My current reads!
About to finish the audio book of The Darkest Child, loving This Monstrous Thing for #LMPBC , and struggling through Red Rising. I think I'm just at a slow part I have to power through.

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Bookpearl
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Happy Anniversary to my Book Pearls!! We celebrated 6 years of laughter, good wine and of course books!

Reviewsbylola That‘s so awesome!! 6y
britt_brooke 💚💚💚 6y
BellaBookNook Love it!!! 6y
BookaholicNatty Love this!!!!!! Happy anniversary you all! ❤️😍📚😘 6y
Nute So beautiful...everyone, a lovely pearl! I love this. Congratulations on your time together. 6y
15 likes5 comments
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Tamra
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Chase isn‘t impressed with my thrifty find today. 😐 He moved twice before I could snap the pic.

92 likes2 stack adds
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Bookpearl
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pearls pick for the month of August...

10 likes3 stack adds
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Nute
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

#ReadingResolutions - Child: This is one of the most heartbreaking stories that I have ever read. The searing pain of an unloved child gets underneath your skin. The rage of the reader, as page after page depicts the impact of a mother contributing to her child‘s doubt of self worth, boils in the blood. The illuminating vision of abject poverty is unforgettable. This author paints a landscape of time and era, of disturbances and misery, 👇🏽

Nute of violence and cruelty, of sorrow and racism. Of mental illness. There are so many places of sadness in this book that it feels as if it cannot be read...it cannot be finished. But it is TangyMae‘s story and she deserves to tell it. She should be heard. The burden of what she endures must not be her‘s alone. And the determination to rise above must be witnessed. It is an honest and unflinching narrative and the reader must listen to the end. 👇🏽 (edited) 7y
Nute Recommended! 7y
Tamra 😭 I can‘t bear the thought! (edited) 7y
Dragon A very thoughtful review. Stacking. 7y
Luvlivelyfe I really want to read this book 6y
92 likes7 stack adds5 comments
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BrownGirlReading
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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This is one of my TBR shelves. Only book read on it is bone which is an excellent poetry collection. The Darkest Child is being pushed up my TBR. How are your TBR lists looking?

BellaBookNook I wish I only had a TBR shelf. My whole house is a TBR!!!!😊 Unfortunately social media doesn‘t help matters. But I think I have been reading at least one that I own from my TBR a month. So it‘s something right? 😜 7y
BrownGirlReading Girl this is only one shelf! There are five other shelves of TBR! 😱😝 7y
BrownGirlReading @BellaBookNook Me too!😅 I‘m just using these shelves as a way to centralize my reading. You have to take your time with the new releases. Remember there are always going to be new releases..... 7y
18 likes3 comments
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BrownGirlReading
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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#readsoullit Photo Challenge Day 23 Cool Shoes and a Book

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Cydster61
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

This is a devastating excellent hard necessary read.

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prowlix
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Mehso-so

Unpopular opinion time! And I really wanted to like this debut. Tangy Mae is her mother's darkest child in 1950s rural South dealing with immense poverty. But I just felt like everything was excessively done: 10 children with different fathers, horrible child abuse, mental illness and forced prostitution.

The audio narrator was excellent though. Her use of different accents and intonation for this huge cast was great! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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prowlix
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips

I keep slowly making progress on this audio. The narrator is great but the content has all the trigger warnings! I may need to start something funny just to offset the cruelty, anyone have any suggestions for palate cleansers?

Centique I tend to use romance or YA or fantasy (light) to break up heavier reading. Maybe something like Sorcerer to the Crown? Or if you like an older English setting, some Jeeves and Wooster? For a cosy mystery Martha Grimes is good too. Good luck! 8y
prowlix @Centique romance had crossed my mind! But I like the idea of a mystery or fantasy too. Something that's fast paced plot might be what I need! Thanks for the advice! 8y
20 likes3 comments
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prowlix
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Next up on my audio! Anyone else really hate it when the book chapters don't match the Audible version chapter lbs? It drives me crazy!

But so far this audio is 💯

Sue Yes!! It drives me nuts too! 8y
prowlix @Sue this is the second book they've done this and it's so distracting! This one even had a "flip the cassette over" break in?! How is there no editing for that! 8y
Sue Flip the cassette? Lol, old school!! 8y
31 likes3 comments
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Kathrin
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

I picked up the book at the library for the cover and the title and I am happy I did! This is a very hard book to read for the cruelty of the mother and it being situated in Georgia around the time they started to desegregate the schools. Tangy Mae is a beautiful and strong character with a drive to finish high school despite all obstacles put in her path. This is the author first and only novel so far... I hope she'll pick up the pen again soon!

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Kathrin
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Picked up this book in the library just based on cover and title... so far I don't regret it!

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specklife
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

Such a heartbreaking story. Crazy Rozelle and the ever-brave Tangy Mae were real as life to me. Can't wait to read more from this author!

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cherinium
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

Gut wrenching. Phillips' powerful imagery and emotional words swept me away into this world of violence, racism and a family striving to survive in any way they can. I came away from this story feeling heartbroken and a little bit hopeful all at the same time. Experiencing this novel as an #audiobook narrated by Cherise Boothe made the experience even richer. All I can say is, Wow!

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cherinium
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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My heart is already being wrenched into pieces, and I'm not very far into this powerful novel. #audiobook

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rachelm
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

Still processing this book. I've never been so shaken by violence in literature than in TangyMae's story. Set the south during the Civil Rights Era, Rozele's ten children struggle against cruelty, racism, and mental illness. Huge trigger warnings, including a murder that made me burst into tears while driving. The audiobook version is read unflinchingly even when I would have put the book down and walked away.

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rachelm
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Listened to this amazing but sad book much of the day. Taking a break by watching the pilot of an old old old favorite. What do you do to unwind from a stressful day when your book is kind of stressful too?

OSChamberlain I do the same! Jump into a tv show I love. Or play son video games. 8y
LectricSheep Sabrina!! 8y
Marchpane I love to rewatch favourite shows. I almost never reread books but for some reason I love watching shows over and over. 8y
See All 11 Comments
rachelm @OSChamberlain video games (or board games) are a great idea too :) 8y
BekahB I watch favorite tv shows too! Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bob's Burgers are my go-to shows lately. 8y
rachelm @LectricSheep it is so 90s fabulous. I forgot how much I loved it 8y
rachelm @BekahB Bob's is one of my favs too! I have to watch the new ones with the hubs though, or he gets upset ;) 8y
KilgoreTrout @BekahB Buffy is one of my go-tos as well! 8y
OffTheBeatenShelf.com I watch a random Netflix documentary. Finders Keepers is my favorite. I watched The Lion In Your Living Room, which is about house cats, tonight and it was delightful. 8y
Zelma HGTV, especially any of the House Hunters iterations. Soothing and relaxing for me. 8y
Moray_Reads Watch anything by David Attenborough. Currently Plane Earth II. I like to save it for that point in the week when it really feels like Friday will never come 😉 8y
46 likes11 comments
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Trina_L
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
Pickpick

This book is utterly heartbreaking .

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prowlix
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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There's another huge Audible sale going if you are looking for a way to use your credits! I ended up deciding on this and Go Tell it on the Mountain but there are so many good options 🎧

BarbaraTheBibliophage I picked up some good ones!! 8y
29 likes1 comment
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Airykah13
The Darkest Child: A Novel | Delores Phillips
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Pickpick

This was one of those stories that left me sitting in silence after I finished reading the last page. Many emotions ran through me while reading this, mostly anger and frustration. While the material is heavy, I highly recommend it. Sadly the author passed away so I'll never have my ?s answered.

evelynnalfred This book was something else. Whew. 9y
10 likes3 stack adds1 comment