Sometimes reading about the mistakes of America's past can be difficult especially when it happened over 200 years ago but it doesn't minimize the impact it would have on you reading about it. Take for example the recent book I just read, Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks about the horrors of the slavery conditions that happened in the early 1800's. Even though the story is a fictional account it was still based on true events. This one centered around the Nat Turner Rebellion in Tidewater, Virginia and is where the story begins.

It shows how the differences in peoples mind's about slavery between those in the North and those in the deep South. The North had begun to accept that slavery should be abolished but the progress was slow in getting people to come to terms with equality among all men and women. Bodine Peace was left free when his master died and left him adequate land to begin a life for himself. He finally found that deep within himself that all along, owning slaves had been wrong. He made sure that the terms for freeing Bodine Peace was upheld by his sons. Bodine Peace, or Bo as he was called was a man of God who believed that despite how long it was taking for God to bring about justice to all men, He would eventually free them all.

Bo used his land to help other slaves become free as well. Asking that all they had to do for freedom was work off the price he had to pay for them by working on the land Mr. Maitland had given him. He would teach them a fair trade, educate them and when a year's time was up, he had legal papers drawn up to provide them their freedom. It was during this time that Bo came across a woman who called herself Ruth. He was in town to purchase slaves as he felt led by God and when Ruth's determined actions cause her owner to beat her in public, Bo felt he had God's answer.

Yet it would take time to heal the hatred in Ruth's heart towards all men and especially to heal her bitterness and resentment towards God. Ruth had been sold into slavery primarily for breeding based on her good looks which she saw as a curse from God since there wasn't anything she could do about that. So she remained determined to do whatever she could to find freedom even if that meant using her looks to her advantage.

I received Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and really loved how well the characters of Ruth and Bo were developed by Marlene so that the reader would be immersed in their lives and could see things from their eyes, how cruel the world could be, and how not everyone believed people should be treated like livestock. This one rates a 5 out of 5 stars in my book and shows just how much God's plan will work for those who LOVE Him despite the outward circumstances. ( )