I read The Invention of Wings for one of my Goodreads groups, Sweeter Reads, and this awesome book recommendation swap they do, and this was the novel chosen for me. I have to say, it took me about 50 pages or so to get into this novel and I wonder if part of that is because of all the hype that surrounded it since the novel came out. Once I hit my stride, though, I wanted to read it all the time. 
 The novel alternates between the voices of Sarah Grimke, daughter of a prominent Southern jurist in Charleston and Handful, the slave girl that was gifted to Sarah as a girl. Sometimes, the accounts of slave punishments made me wince and I had to put the book down to collect myself. Sometimes, I found myself smiling and laughing along with the characters. Lots of times, I found myself feeling sad and wishing I could help! I have a soft spot in my heart for sweeping narratives about a girl becoming a woman, and I got two in one with Sarah and Handful. Also, I've read The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair and there is something comforting about Kidd's prose--she makes me feel at home and, no matter where I'm reading, like I'm curled up at home on the couch. I'm grateful to authors who can do that for me, and I'm grateful to Sue Monk Kidd for this novel!