"The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom

I feel that Julie may have recommended this book, but I can't remember...

From the back cover:
Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, 7 year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, an lives are put at risk.

REALLY enjoyed this one!