A – Z Book Reviews

Take My Hand brings us to the early 70’s in the deep south, with the main character of Civil Townsend. Civil is a nurse for a non-profit, government funded organization focused on women’s health. She is charged with administering birth control pills and shots to women across the region, which she does with gusto in an effort to help those who need it. Over time, Civil stumbles upon the knowledge that these birth control pills and shots have adverse side effects and are potentially leading to early deaths for all of these women. When Civil is tasked with administering this medicine to two young girls who have yet to reach maturity, Civil begins to question her actions. The rest of the novel takes us through lawsuits filed against the government, Civil’s unrest at her prior actions, and her unrelenting loyalty to the girls she might have poisoned.

I had mixed emotions about this book. On the one hand, I thought the story line was well written and the overall aspect of the book was engaging. I didn’t know about this case or law suit (it is based on a true story), so it was interesting in that fashion. However, I found it difficult to get on the same page as Civil. I felt like her immediate emotional attachment to the family of the two girls was a bit sudden and overdone. I could believe she felt a certain amount of guilt over her actions, but the attraction to the girl’s father and her immediate “motherly” protectiveness towards the girls was a bit overdone. She also had some over-emotional turmoil that she was unable to overcome through the entire novel. It left me feeling like her character was underdeveloped and I felt no sense of closure at the end of the novel. Almost as though the story arch for Civil were incomplete. I don’t mind a book that doesn’t have a happy ending, but I do much prefer complete closure to the character’s story arch and development.

While I feel like the subject matter and relevance to the question of social justice/injustice is important to bring to light, I don’t feel like the book captured it to its fullest potential. I would recommend this book if you are looking for an easy read to fill the time, but I would not recommend it if you looking for a phenomenal, engaging novel that will make your list of top 10.