Series ✦ Penny’s Take
The Invention of Wings
Sue Monk Kidd · 2014
79/100
👍 Worth It
Sue Monk Kidd's dual-narrator novel follows the real abolitionist Sarah Grimke alongside an enslaved woman named Handful, and it earned its Oprah Book Club selection and Kirkus starred review — the praise for handling slavery without sentimental revisionism is deserved. The historical research is evident, the characters have genuine dignity, and the story carries moral weight. It is not light reading: the depictions of slavery's violence are serious and the themes are heavy, so this is firmly for adult readers and mature older teens only.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: graphic depictions of slavery violence (flogging, abuse) · period racial slurs in historical context · references to sexual exploitation of enslaved women · extramarital affair subplot · serious mature historical themes. We still scored it 79; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety62
Substance / usefulness75
Craft & writing76
Originality71
Evidence & accuracy84
Hype vs delivers74
Age-fit85
👁 Human-eye gut-check82
Penny’s verdict79
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