Reviews

If Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? was your favorite historical fiction book from last summer, ReShonda Tate's historical fiction debut is your next best bet. Be sure to give Lynette R. Freeman's audiobook performance a spin- it was phenomenal in this novel.

The story swiftly starts with Hattie McDaniel's historic supporting actress win at the Academy Awards for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone With the Wind. This role remains a controversial performance even today, but to discredit Hattie's performance also erases her hard work and the Hollywood limitations placed upon a Black woman in the industry.

Hattie thought this award would propel her into being a coveted actress for future projects, dreaming of theatrical roles that would stretch her. Unfortunately, she was forever typecast into the role of housekeeper, but that's not to say that Hattie didn't fight every day for Hollywood to give her something better.

Whether she was butting heads with the NAACP, fighting racial segregation in her neighborhood, falling madly in love with four different men (at least), or finding an unusually steadfast friendship with Clark Gable- this juicy tell-all reads like a Ryan Murphy flick in a book.

In her author's note, Tate reluctantly shared that Hattie persistently appeared to her in dreams and that she had been thinking about this writing project for many years. You can tell that Tate lived and breathed this project for years as she takes the reader through the historical details and author’s note at the tail end of her book.

It was a treat to look up the images of these places mentioned and to have a new reverence for McDaniel's work on the show—the author did her homework, and it showed on every page. To say more will rob you of a lot of incredible trivia missions. You will never watch the film the same way again.

TAG: Old Hollywood, Books About Nurses, Books Set At Hospitals, BIPOC Authors

jenmulsow's review

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dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

bergamee's review

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emotional informative inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

beautynbks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have never seen Gone With the Wind nor do I desire to ever see it. However I was familiar with Hattie McDaniel. Like many during her time judged her, so did I.

Hattie McDaniel played the hand she was dealt. She worked hard and endured racism and a bunch of loser men! Hattie was not to be played with and I loved that about her.

Ms. Tate did an amazing job of bringing Hattie to life and I felt like I was living during that time. Her success was my success and her hurt was my hurt. The one criticism I have is that the word disdain was used way too much!!!

jhscolloquium's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

judebugs's review

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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