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Reviewed by Natasha Jackson for Readers' Favorite
Sonja Kent’s life is about what you would expect of a woman coming of age in the 1950s. Her life is mostly about sacrifice, doing as she’s told, and following her faith. When her father’s business goes bankrupt, Sonja is forced to give up not only her beloved piano, but also her hopes for the future. Instead of pursuing the scholarship that would await her come graduation, she is uprooted from her small town to Jacksonville, Florida, where her life will never be the same. In Florida she meets Walter, the man who would become her husband, her tormentor, and her sexual abuser. Unfortunately, there is no help for Sassy Sonja, Virgin Bride in a time when sex and child-bearing is considered a woman’s “duty.” Sarah Sewell Wolters paints a vivid image of what was considered Sonja’s womanly and Christian “duty” to let Walter sexually assault her and keep her mouth shut.
At times, Sassy Sonja, Virgin Bride is downright maddening. You see Sonja trying to be a stronger woman and stand up for herself but with no one but her close friend Sandy to lean on, leaving Walter is an impossible task. Those around her are unwilling or unable to believe what Sonja says, but she is quite sassy in her refusal to stop saying them in public, or at all. When Sonja learns to play smart rather than fierce, she finally gets the freedom from Walter she seeks, although not in the way she wishes. Sarah Sewell Wolters has told a very poignant tale of how harmful words like duty and faith can be if they are expected at the exclusion of common human decency and respect.
