Reviews with content warning for Death - Angel of Greenwood

I have always heard about Black Wallstreet and I knew the unfortunate ending, but I liked seeing this fictional take on it. We get to see how life may have been for those living in this sort of Black oasis. The people in the community felt real to me. The Booker T. Washington vs. W.E B. Du Bois conversations where their two ideologies are contrasted were good as well. For those more interested in the historical aspects, they may be disappointed by how much the story focuses on Isaiah’s development, Angel’s need to help, and innocent romance (slightly insta-lovey but fitting). The actual events don’t take place until the last hundred pages, choosing instead to focus on our main characters’ lives instead.

I enjoyed (as much as you can with the subject matter) reading Angel of Greenwood, and I wish there was more attention given to it. This is a split pov with Angel and Isaiah. Angel is the girl with a heart of gold who is always caring for others and not herself, while Isaiah is a secretly decent guy led around by his nasty friend Muggy jr.

I did not know how early on would the book touch on the vile massacre, so there was an impending sense of dread for me. However, the lightheartedness of Isaiah getting his junk together and his beautiful, lovesick poems he wrote about Angel were a welcome distraction.

While I generally don’t read much historical fiction featuring African-Americans/Black Americans (I’m always left with a mixture of anger and sadness afterwards; it can be emotionally-draining at times), I don’t regret reading this. We, descendants from North American chattel enslavement, have truly had an enduring time in this country. Still, Angel of Greenwood shows that black life isn’t/wasn’t this all-consuming suffering. People have lives, aspirations, hopes and dreams and whatnot too.

Anyway, this is worth reading (and talking about!)

Content Warnings

kirbybeaton's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0

Content Warnings

kaseybereading's review

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dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

alertnerd's review

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dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

In the days leading up to the Tulsa Massacre, Angel Hill and Isaiah Wilson have been tasked with delivering books to the underserved areas of their community. What started as contempt between the two teenagers quickly blossoms into something else as they discover more about each other. When a white mob attacks their city, their dreams of an idyllic summer romance are destroyed.

I want more characters like Isaiah Wilson in YA books. He’s soft, caring, intelligent and passionate. That doesn’t mean that he’s without fault though. His flaws are front and center in this story and he has to do a lot to reckon with the mistakes he’s made in the past.

Randi Pink does such a great job of making the reader feel like they are a member of the Greenwood community. Her descriptions transported me to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921.

I believe that everyone should read as much as they can about what happened in Greenwood, because it is an important part of US history that has been ignored for far too long.

Thanks to netgalley and Feiwel and Friends for this ARC.

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