A Haven Amidst Perdition is very accessible in its use of language and setting, but the novel is at the same time dense in its themes, plot, imagery, and tragic aesthetic. You cannot tear through this novel, no matter how avid a reader you might be. The author has woven an unsettling oppression into her novel’s aesthetic that I think sets it a part of similar pastoral novel’s like The Color Purple and Beloved. Although similar themes of violence and abuse of women abound, Ms. Owens doesn’t provide her audience sympathetic relief through naturalistic imagery or Christian sentimentality. What is left is an unsettled space in the readers stomach, that the reader has to deal with. In fact, the novel forces you to live in and with the unsettlement. In my opinion the visceral response that this novel is assured to elicit is what makes it noteworthy, if not masterful.

The mark of a good novel is when the protagonist takes a left, and you want them to take a right, so you throw down the book in frustration, but inevitably have to come back so that you can see how foolish that left turn that you told them not to take was. That’s this book, the whole way through. A Haven Amidst Perdition opens up an interesting and timely conversation about race, gender, and power as they function in the work and modern society. Set in the 1940s, the protagonist, Eve, a mixed-race girl, comes of age “in the deep country.” Her story contains a lot of women’s stories. And the novel itself contains a lot of South’s hidden stories.

For something to give me joy, it has to impress upon my mind as well as my heart: A Haven Amidst Perdition did such for me. I found myself thinking about the protagonists" lives as if they were real people, and I actually 'felt" their lives through the authors' heart-felt expression of their sorrows and their hopes as they travelled through life in search of love and happiness. A Haven Amidst Perdition is the first fiction I have read in more than thirty-five years. I left fiction in my quest to learn more empirical things. How wonderful a way for me to be re-introduced to fiction by reading such a wonderful, capturing story that was recommended to me. I will anxiously be looking forward to the author's future 'gifts of joy.' I highly recommend this 'read.'

The best book I've read in over a year. I hope this author comes up with more. I know it's fiction but being from the south I know a lot of this to be true. Thank you for such a good read

This is I liked how Sidra made the characters come alive. I got caught up with their pain and acceptance of the cruelty of living Black in that time and place.,

An entertaining read that holds many surprises and does not fail to keep you engaged, A Haven Amidst Perdition paints a picture of a desperate time with characters that reflect the hardships they face.

An honest, gritty look into a time when Southern Traditions and Culture were on the verge of upheaval. A book that keeps you engrossed for the entire read.

A Haven Amidst Perdition is definitely a book that one cannot put down. Each page will have you wanting to know what will happen on the next page. The book paints a perfectly good picture of how the scenes and the characters look and you can feel the characters' feelings as you read each event. The book will have you feeling mad, sad, happy and relieved. A great book to read and looking forward to reading more books by the author