Roses by Leila Meacham

Reader Rating:

I really liked this book. There were only a few similarities to Gone with the Wind, such as, the main character lives on a cotton farm and has black hair and green eyes. That's pretty much it.

The book is divided into three parts telling the stories of three different characters, Mary, Percy and Rachel. After Mary's father dies leaving her the family cotton plantation and almost nothing to her mother and brother, her family is torn apart by resentment. Her father knew that if he left the plantation that had been in the family for over a century to his wife or son, it would be sold. Since Mary refused to go against her father's wishes, her mother and brother hated and resented her for it. Mary falls in love with her brother's friend Percy but due to crazy circumstances, ends up marrying their other friend Ollie. I won't say what happened since I don't want to give the story away. The theme of the book basically tells about the family obsession with their land and the willingness to give up everything else in life in order to keep it. Because of this, the family has been cursed for over a century. Rachel is Mary's great niece who has been raised to take over the family plantation. In the first chapter of the book, you find out that Mary decides at the last minute to change her will and not leave it to Rachel in order to spare her from the family curse. Before Mary can relate the reasons why she did it, she dies. Throughout the book you find out what happened to Mary, what the family curse is, and the aftermath of Mary's death as Rachel and her family find out that she doesn't inherit the plantation.