Nikkie, a DC real estate agent, receives an unexpected – and inconvenient- request from her maternal grandmother living in North Carolina. Mother Rita urgently wants Nikki to visit her, for the first time in a long while. Nikki's first-person narrative of that visit and the ensuing events is interwoven with the first-person narrative of her great-great-great grandmother Luella who moved from South Carolina to North Carolina in the post-emancipation era. Luella helped establish a community of formerly enslaved men and women they called the Kingdom of Happy Land. The interplay of the narrative of the pioneers of the kingdom (complete with a king and queen) and that of their descendants creates an absorbing novel that explores several themes: family structure and relationships; the value of knowing of one's family roots; the significance (and fragility) of land ownership; the role that resilience and determination play in fighting injustice.
The Kingdom of Happy Land was established on property that was granted to African Americans after emancipation and has been passed down from generation to generation without a will. The present-day dilemmas facing the heirs of such property as "tenants in common" are portrayed through the struggles of the Lovejoy family to retain their land.
Readers unfamiliar with the history of the post-emancipation South and the concept of "heirs' property" will find their reading experience enhanced by a little background research on those topics.

I was interested in this book for two reasons: 1)I am a therapist who has worked with the blind and visually impaired, so reading from the client's perspective interested me and 2) I have recently been diagnosed with macular degeneration myself and the story of someone coming to terms with loss of vision captured my attention. The first two-thirds of the book kept my interest, but thereafter I was tempted to skim to the end where (hopefully) the author would find a way to accept and deal with his disability. The relationship with Meredith was a bit hard to follow and the resolution not particularly satisfying, but then this is based on true life not fiction! Not a book I would recommend to a friend.

This book demands at least two readings. First Reading: enjoy the story of a resilient little girl, a scruffy dog, a cranky old woman, and a remarkable friendship. Second Reading: slow down, stroll leisurely through the sensuous soundscape, filled with vivid imagery. The author puts you squarely into the body of a ten year old girl, faced with an unimaginable change in her life. Sounds, scents, visceral sensations - the author puts you into her body, you see with her eyes, hear with her ears, taste with her tongue. An incredible read!

I really loved this book! It took a few chapters before I became hooked, but that is my own fault. Since childhood I have been conversant with Greek gods and heroes. My grandmother was really into Greek and Roman mythology, so as child I became enthralled with stories of gods and heroes. When I started this book, I thirsted for more 'background' so I became bogged down in refresher research, immersing myself in the Greek mythology, following online tangents that led off in all directions. Then something happened...I was suddenly swept away by the story and the characters and the author's delicious writing style. Dionysus in particular, the author brings him to life - all joy, laughter and delight, a loving husband and father to his children. But there is tragedy (as always in Greek literature) an undercurrent of darkness and god-like trickery that led him to freeze a little girl into a (fortunately reversible) statue of gold ( I knew that story well!), and more .... I will not spoil the ending ... read it for yourself. This is a MUST READ for anyone who loves Greek mythology in all of its tragic guises, and wants to be immersed in the lives of heroes and gods.

What a pleasurable read! Even though the plot was obvious from the beginning, it was fun to meander through the book, discovering some interesting tidbits about the harp along the way. It would make a good book club selection, conversations about relationships and how they go wrong (or right!).

What a fun book! It was like sitting down with a very down-to-earth chatty friend and comparing notes about things classical - languages, literature and travel. It helps to have at least a smattering knowledge of Greek (and Roman) mythology, mythology,classical languages (Latin and Greek) and geography, especially if acquired first hand through travel in Greece. Throw in a dash of New Yorker copy-editor asides, and you have a recipe for an entertaining evening's read.

I love a novel that pulls me into an unfamiliar time period, geographical area and/or culture. This one did all of that! Malaya in the 1930s with its upstairs-downstairs mix of British colonials and native Chinese was new to me. The two main characters, Ren and Ji Lin, narrate alternate chapters, creating a colorful tapestry of Malayan life of that time. The British colonial culture is interwoven with Chinese culture - folklore, food, superstitions, Confucianism, family values. Against that backdrop an intricate mystery that begins with a quest plays out, complete with mysterious deaths, ghosts, forbidden love. A good read altogether.

This is a very timely book, as it deals with the emotional effects of all-too-often occurring phenomena in our country today - mass shootings in our schools. It is told in the words of a six-year old whose community is experiencing the aftermath of such an event. The family of one of the victims, a 10-year old boy and the family of the shooter both struggle to come to terms with the horrors of the situation and deal with the pressures of the media. I am going to recommend this to my book club as soon as it comes out!

The format of this novel, which consists entirely of letters, journal entries and legal documents, immerses the reader in a mystery involving three generations of a South Carolina family, before, during and after the Civil War. The story - which unfolds slowly (building suspense) and not always in chronological order- is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Placidia Hockaday and various members of her family. I found this a captivating book, one that I could not put down until I finished it. I will recommend this book to my Book Club and also to family members/friends who have a particular interest in the Civil War era.

I am a big fan of historical fiction, but this book does not count among my favorites. It is an easy to read love story, begins in 1835, two years prior to Victoria's ascent to the throne, and ends with her proposal to Albert in 1839. Victoria's less-than-satisfactory relationship with her mother and her mother's power-hungry friend, Sir John Conroy, are explored. On the romantic front, her quasi-romantic relationship with her prime minister, Lord Melbourne, dominates the book. In the last few chapters, husband-to-be Albert finally comes to the fore. After a brief courtship, Victoria manages to win Albert. Or is it he who manages to win her? The best I can say is that the book did spur me to further reading about the social and political milieu into which Victoria found herself thrust at the age of 18.