The Tobacco Wives in Bound Together

Mar 01, 2022 DeAnn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2022, netgalley-2022

4 Summer of reckoning stars

This was a stunning debut novel that I thoroughly enjoyed! Southern fiction tends to be a winner for me, and this fit the bill! Set in the late 1940s when tobacco was king in North Carolina and the Tobacco Wives ruled the town!

Maddie is a young aspiring seamstress. She’s spending the summer with her aunt in Bright Leaf, surprise Aunt Etta! It isn’t the best timing as Etta is in crunch mode with getting all the gowns ready for the upcoming gala.

Maddie is a quick study t ...more

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Oct 14, 2022 ♥ Sandi ❣ rated it really liked it

Shelves: debut, southern-lit, z2022-3500-books, historical-history, social-issues, family

4 stars

I was not going to give this a 4 star rating - but something much less. That was not because I felt the author did a bad job or that the writing was not good - because as far as the author and writing I very much liked the book. My reason for a lower rating was because of the money grubbing bastards in the tobacco industry. However the author brought out such a strong reaction in me about this drug trade that I felt even though I had a negative reaction, she was due a good rating. Therefo 4 stars

I was not going to give this a 4 star rating - but something much less. That was not because I felt the author did a bad job or that the writing was not good - because as far as the author and writing I very much liked the book. My reason for a lower rating was because of the money grubbing bastards in the tobacco industry. However the author brought out such a strong reaction in me about this drug trade that I felt even though I had a negative reaction, she was due a good rating. Therefore a 4 star book.

The story of a young girl, raised by a narcissistic mother, who dumps her on her aunt. From prior years of visits Maddie had picked up the craft of her aunts sewing. Luckily she had, for when the aunt becomes ill Maddie must carry on the tradition of making the gowns for the elite women in town - the Tobacco Wives. As the story progresses, we learn that cigarette executives and stupid doctors are pushing the addiction of cigarettes to line their pockets, all the time knowing that cigarettes are bad for the health of people.

Most of this story takes place in the 1940's and the addiction of cigarettes as a health problem is known by few but not shared with the public. The story ends in the 1990's, just as changes are taking place.

This story riled me up. I put up with my parents smoking for twenty years, unable to get away from it and hating every minute of it. They believed the vile, foul lies told by cigarette companies. I hated being unable to eat a nice meal in public without the next booth or table "lighting up". I am so happy that we have had changes that will allow my grandchildren to be free of inhaling second hand smoke. I also mourn the hundreds of thousands of people addicted to this filthy habit. The lives lost to sickness and death due to their addiction. To say nothing of the expense - and where that money could have easily made a greater difference.

So even though my reaction to this story was as effusive as it was, I think the author deserves the 4 star rating for making me feel as I did. ...more

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Aug 09, 2022 Anna rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, suspense

North Carolina, 1946.
WWII has ended, the soldiers are headed home and change is on the horizon. For 15 year old Maddie Sykes her life is about to be completely turned upside down. Her father died while serving and her mother is on the hunt for a new husband, so she drops Maddie at her Aunt Etta's house in Brightleaf, where tobacco reigns supreme. She's dazzled by the glamorous "tobacco wives" married to the company executives. For years her Aunt has been making their gowns for the many social ev ...more

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Jun 17, 2022 Glenda rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2022

Maddie Sykes is a burgeoning seamstress who’s just arrived in Bright Leaf, North Carolina—the tobacco capital of the South—where her aunt has a thriving sewing business. After years of war rations and shortages, Bright Leaf is a prosperous wonderland in full technicolor bloom, and Maddie is dazzled by the bustle of the crisply uniformed female factory workers, the palatial homes, and, most of all, her aunt’s glossiest clientele: the wives of the powerful tobacco executives.

When a series of unexp ...more

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Aug 18, 2022 Malinda Bollinger rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An historical fiction read about the NC tobacco industry with an emphasis on women’s health and women working in the industry in the 1940s during the war. Enjoyed the history lesson through the eyes of young Maddie, a bright teenager with a true moral compass for truth. I was reminded of women who have served as mentors for me in my life!

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Oct 20, 2022 Diana S rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books, audio-book, historical-fiction, read-in-2022, 3500-2022

Wow, good book! 👍

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Apr 20, 2023 Melanie rated it liked it

The setting is interesting with WWII and how owners feel about women working for them in the factories. If a women goes to college it is to get her MRS. Maddie has learned how to be a seamstress like her aunt so when she is forced to stay indefinitely with said aunt she gets to meet the Tobacco Wives. While soldiers are given cigarettes in their rations and women are encourage to smoke - it is discovered that smoking isn't exactly a healthy habit to acquire. We get to see the workings of activis ...more

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