The Tobacco Wives

In this coming-of-age novel about a teenage seamstress versus Big Tobacco in 1946, 15-year-old Maddie Sykes is a woman ahead of her time. A talented seamstress, she is put in the exalted position of designing gowns for the wives of the tobacco executives to keep her aunt’s business afloat. When she catches the eye of the wife of the owner of Bright Leaf Tobacco, Maddie is not only designing outfits for galas but attending them herself. Then she reads about a study showing that tobacco may be unsafe, particularly for pregnant women, yet a new cigarette is being marketed to them. Will Maddie be able to change the tobacco industry without destroying everything that Bright Leaf, NC, is built on? The narration by Shannon McManus and Janet Metzger depicts a Maddie older than her years yet still an idealistic child. Her lovely Southern accent has tremors of insecurity, interspersed with teeth-grinding stubbornness. The “tobacco wives” and other women are characterized with mature voices, smooth as silk and commensurate with their stations, yet still distinct. Maddie cannot go up against the establishment and win. However, it is a satisfying story and delightful to the ear.