The Darkest Child

This book kept me intrigued throughout the entire time reading. I felt as if I personally knew the characters, understood their stories, and could even relate to some. I also really enjoyed the unfinished sequel preview at the end of the book; although, I’m saddened that there isn’t more, because I really loved this story. May Delores Phillips rest in peace.

This book draws you in. One can't help but have empathy for all of the children whom Rozelle birthed. Brace yourself for Rozelle. She is a mess, and there is no good in her. This is a page turner. You will not want to put it down.

I truly enjoyed reading the book. The author pulled me into her story with first sentence and it was hard to put down. The treatment of black people by white people in this country has and still can be found to be barbaric and inhumane it seems they believe God condones this type of treatment by including His name when it's really gruesome. The author captures this. The author also captures how many people, black and white, view the darker skinned black people; which is also reprehensible! I recommend this book to younger generations of black children to enlighten them about the struggle that we as black people are still fighting.

Absolutely held me spellbound. Could not put it down. Should be a must read. I laughed but more importantly, I cried. Thanks Delores Phillips. I will now look for more of your works.

Oh my goodness why did I wait so long to read this book?!! The author wrote this book with so many emotions, details and colorful characters I never wanted it to end. TDC is narrated by Tangy Mae the darkest child by Rosie Quinn. Rosie is the mother of nine kids but as the story goes on she has yet another child. None of the children have the same father. Rosie is beautiful and has slept with just about every man in their small community. The way she treats her children will literally make your jaw dropped! Rosie's way of getting the bills paid and getting groceries for the house was making two of her daughters sleep with men in the 'farmhouse'. The beatings the children experienced were terrible, and at times I could feel their pain! As one reviewer mentioned, yes there are several characters in this book, but you will have no problem following the story because the author is an exceptional storyteller! Each child will amaze you as you read about the things they go through and do to act out. Tangy Mae, Tarabell, Harvey, Wallace, Sam, Laura, Edna, Mushy, Martha Jean and Judy are all characters you will never forget! As I read the story I would stop to tell my husband what was going on. I had him into it as well! As you turn the pages in TDC you'll keep asking yourself is Rosie crazy, bipolar, does she have a split personality, does she have a heart...does she even love her kids?? I hope this author is working another book! I need an email address, a phone number, a website, some kinda contact to tell her how GOOD this book was! From the first chapter I was sucked into Tangy Mae's world and family. I literally could NOT put this book down, but at the same time, I did NOT want it to end. The Darkest Child is a well written and emotionally gripping story with bold, memorable and real characters!!! I'm a huge fan of the 'back in the day' books and this one is by far the BEST I have read to date! Five stars is not nearly enough to rate this book!!!! (When you get your copy of this book get somewhere quiet with your favorite snack and let this author take you on a journey you'll never forget) HIGHLY recommended!

This is a raw narrative about a deeply dysfunctional family in 1950s rural Georgia. The story unfolds through the eyes of Tangy Mae, a fourteen-year-old girl navigating poverty, abuse, racism, and family trauma. The novel is long and highly episodic, which I believe is intentional. Rather than building toward a neat resolution, the story unfolds as a series of events and hardships that simply become part of Tangy's life. What I found most frustrating and most realistic is that there is very little emotional wrap-up. Something terrible happens, and instead of stopping to process it, the narrative often moves on to the next situation. There are no tidy conclusions, no satisfying moments of justice, and rarely the kind of closure readers are conditioned to expect. Life just keeps happening. Reading the novel feels like walking alongside Tangy, witnessing what she endures, understanding how awful it is, but being powerless to change it. The accumulation of those experiences becomes the story. With every page I turned, I found myself asking: Why did Dolores Phillips want to tell this story? What am I supposed to learn from this? By the end, I concluded that maybe not every story exists to teach a lesson. Maybe some stories, regardless of how jarring, painful, or uncomfortable they are, simply need to be told. I'm still grappling with my feelings about this book because it leaves me with emotions more than critiques. This novel does not offer easy answers or answers at all. There aren't any or satisfying resolutions. Instead, it asks you to witness. I find myself still carrying the weight of what I witnessed. 5/5 stars. I can't stop thinking about it.

Reading The Darkest Child as an adult was a completely different experience than reading it when I was younger. With more lived experience, this novel hit much harder. It hurt knowing my ancestors lived through this kind of trauma and that so many Black children were treated as though their lives had little value. As one of the darkest-skinned people in my own family, I connected with parts of the story in a way I couldn’t before. I kept waiting for even a small glimpse of hope, but it never came. For me, this was an unrelenting tragedy from beginning to end. I understand that was likely Delores Phillips’s intention, and she told the story powerfully, but it was an emotionally exhausting read that will stay with me for a long time.

This was an awesome read. Excellent writing. I can picture every line that was told. RIP to the author. I think she should’ve been one of my favorite authors.

Amazing read

On shame, pain and despair, but also the hope, the love and resilience of one little being. Hardly giving any book a 5*, but I guess this one deserves it.

This book is awesome. It's well written, hard to read in places but so worth the time it took to read it. I have looked for something else by this author but I can't find anything. The way some people had to live is unimaginable. Even though this is a book of fiction I have read other accounts of life in the south for black people back in the 50s. It's bad enough what was done at the hands of the white people but even worse when it was dished out by your own mother. I truly love Tangy Mae and hope to fine a follow up to this story.

As sad and painful of a story as it was I thoroughly enjoyed it. The resilience of all the children was admirable. So many heartbreaking and downright disturbing scenes, interwoven with moments of love and hope. I definitely would recommend this book.

Just wow, so deep, so insightful. You are sucked into the story from the first page. Characters have such depth and emotion to them that you can really empathise with the children. The mother is one scary individual! Makes you think deep about why people behave in certain ways and what makes them take such decisions. Very realistic, raw characters. Very emotive and an excellent read, will have you gripped till the very end. I highly recommend this title