I love a great historical fiction book, especially when I learn a piece of history that I knew nothing about, especially with US history.

This story is told in alternating sections, one is current time with Nikki, as she heads to see her Grandmother, Mother Rita, who she has not seen in many years. Mother Rita has reached out to Nikki as she needs help with something but once Nikki gets there, Mother is not immediately forthcoming with what she needs help with. Nikki pieces things together during her visit & it has to do with multi generational history.

The other section of the story is told from the POV of Luella, a young woman during the Reconstruction era. Her family is now free & a group of them move on to land near the SC/NC border & they form their own "kingdom" called Happy Land.

The old history & new part of the story merge together over time.

There's current family turmoil- 4 generations of women, Mother Rita, her daughter who is Nikki's mom, Nikki & Nikki's daughter. Nikki's mom has never believed the story that has been passed down over generations about this kingdom with a King & Queen, called Happy Land. This causes a rift over many years & Nikki works to find the truth.

A great piece of history that I am sure many of us never heard of before.

Thank you Dolen Perkins-Valdez for researching this & writing this wonderful novel.

This is probably one of the most relevant books for many women to read at this time.
We are fighting the same fight that was fought in the 60s & early 70s- pre Roe V Wade.

I learned so much from this book. It covers fictional women who volunteered in the very real group- Jane. They helped women in ways that no one else could & learned how to perform a certain medical procedure safely, hygienically and compassionately.

Each woman in this book comes from a very different place in life and they all come together to help all women who need their help.

I would say if you are against women making choices for their own body- this may not be the book for you. If you are concerned, angry & frustrated with what is happening against women to make their own choices, between themselves, their doctor and whoever they wish to share with - this might be the book for you. We have taken a very scary step back in time.

Thank you BookBrowse.

A story of a family but mostly of the 3 women in the family- Ann, the daughter of Huong, & Minh, Huong's mother & Ann's grandmother.

Told in alternating chapters in the POV by one of these 3 women.
These are women with very strong personalities & some secrets.

Takes place mostly on the Gulf Coast of FL, but some throw backs to time in Vietnam.

Very well written, started a little slow for me, but did not deter me from continuing. But overall, well written & a strong debut novel.

This book was a page turner. I loved the main character, Ella, a very smart, precocious child.
Most of the story line was about difficult subjects- racism, adultery, abuse, to name a few.
Story takes place in a black community in the 80's, but takes you back in time in various segments touching on the civil rights movement & the murder of election workers.
There are many characters, interesting people with nice character development, be it a good person, a bad person or someone in between.
A true coming of age story told mostly through Ella's eyes.
Very good novel.

Rachel is a runaway slave in Barbados in the 19th century. The slaves have been told that they are free as the King ends slavery but now their plantation owner informs them that they must stay on to work as his apprentices...Rachel decided to flee. The main purpose is not for "freedom" per se but to find her children who were taken from her over the years.

At times a difficult story to read but Rachel is fierce and nothing will stop her from finding her five children. The people she meets, the travels she takes and what she finds along the way are all with that same mission of finding all of them.

A slow paced story with many twists & turns. And a piece of history I knew nothing about.