Into the Free: A Novel by Julie Cantrell

Cantrell, J. (2012). Into the free: A novel. Colorado Springs, CO:
        David C. Cook.

Highly Rewarding Read

Into the Free: A Novel leaps into the life of Millicent Reynolds, a young Mississippi girl at the end of the Depression. Milli’s father, Jack, is a violent, alcoholic, rodeo man whose wife has turned to morphine to survive the abuse. Milli and her mother live in old slave quarters on a plantation, surviving on Jack’s winnings and the money they earn from doing laundry for the wealthy in town, Milli and her mother eek out an existence. Milli befriends a group of gypsies, intending to leave with them, but stops when her father almost beats her mother to death.

David C Cook

The perverse air of melancholia that permeates Milli’s life makes the this novel difficult to begin, but hooks the reader with Milli’s desire to pull herself out of the abusive circle. As Milli turns to people for help, Milli learns to see through facades to discover true meaning of Christianity and love, where money and appearance are not important. Intense book, not for the faint hearted, but a highly rewarding read.

Received Galley from NetGalley.com