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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
I really love Kelly McWilliams at this point. I liked the supernatural parts of this story the best but also how quickly Charlie and Magnolia feel back into their twin bond after being kept apart for so long.
dark
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Charlene and Magnolia are twins who were separated at birth, with a white grandmother taking one child and the colored grandmother taking the other. The twins didn't know about each other as one lived in the New York and the other in Georgia. Fate, or magic, brings them together.
Set in 1953, about a decade before the Civil Rights Movement. The family must learn the hard way about race relations.
Love and magic combine together in this fantastic book, which is on the Beehive Long List for 2024.
Set in 1953, about a decade before the Civil Rights Movement. The family must learn the hard way about race relations.
Love and magic combine together in this fantastic book, which is on the Beehive Long List for 2024.
I LOVED this book. I loved the historical aspect and the setting of Eureka Georgia. The characters were lovable and well written. I read this book via audiobook, and when I first heard Magnolia’s voice I almost DNF’d lbs but she slowly became my favorite character of the book! The ending was very satisfying. I believe this book would be a great movie.
My favorite quotes:
Odessa: “But first you’ve got to quit this ugly pretending. If you keep on playing white, I’ll wash my hands of you.
Magnolia: “You wouldn’t?! Didn’t you raise me?! Don’t we luv each other?!” (The accent had me CRYING
My favorite quotes:
Odessa: “But first you’ve got to quit this ugly pretending. If you keep on playing white, I’ll wash my hands of you.
Magnolia: “You wouldn’t?! Didn’t you raise me?! Don’t we luv each other?!” (The accent had me CRYING
challenging
dark
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence, Murder
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I went into this book thinking it would be a YA horror novel set during Jim Crow.
While the real horror was the South, segregation, racism, lynchings... There were supernatural elements.
Charlene (Charlie) and her twin sister Magnolia have grown up totally different. Their parents had a forbidden love. Their mom was Black, their father White. Their father came from a well to do (from being slaveholders) family. Their mother, a housekeeper. Their parents were gunned down trying to get to another state to get married.
Each girl was taken by a grandmother. Charlene taken by their Black grandmother and raised in Harlem. Magnolia bought by the White grandmother and raised White in Eureka, Georgia where they were born. One raised with love, the other cruelty.
They meet when Charlie brings their Nana back to Eureka. Her grandmother always made it very clear that she wanted to die in Eureka. She's sick and it's time.
What follows is an awakening of sorts. Magnolia is told (while her grandmother is on her deathbed) that her mother was Black. She's was raised and groomed as a proper Southern belle. Charlie learns that she can't behave in Eureka like she does in Harlem.
The sisters meet and face curses, hauntings and the everyday racism of the South together. While coping with so many secrets and the fact that they went through life without knowing about each other.
This book is very well written. It turned out to be a book that really touched me. Looking forward to reading more of Kelly McWilliams work.
While the real horror was the South, segregation, racism, lynchings... There were supernatural elements.
Charlene (Charlie) and her twin sister Magnolia have grown up totally different. Their parents had a forbidden love. Their mom was Black, their father White. Their father came from a well to do (from being slaveholders) family. Their mother, a housekeeper. Their parents were gunned down trying to get to another state to get married.
Each girl was taken by a grandmother. Charlene taken by their Black grandmother and raised in Harlem. Magnolia bought by the White grandmother and raised White in Eureka, Georgia where they were born. One raised with love, the other cruelty.
They meet when Charlie brings their Nana back to Eureka. Her grandmother always made it very clear that she wanted to die in Eureka. She's sick and it's time.
What follows is an awakening of sorts. Magnolia is told (while her grandmother is on her deathbed) that her mother was Black. She's was raised and groomed as a proper Southern belle. Charlie learns that she can't behave in Eureka like she does in Harlem.
The sisters meet and face curses, hauntings and the everyday racism of the South together. While coping with so many secrets and the fact that they went through life without knowing about each other.
This book is very well written. It turned out to be a book that really touched me. Looking forward to reading more of Kelly McWilliams work.
