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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this one. I’m always leery going into a novel written about enslaved people and “current” Black voices, but Wingate was super respectful and the audiobook was perfect!
LIKES:
1) the audiobook! Having Bahni Turpin be the voice was Hannie was brilliant. She is one of the best narrators out there and it made the book feel super authentic and respectful
2) the lost friends book. I loved that this was real… loved it and it was heartbreaking. All those people missing family and friends. They didn’t give up hope and I loved that!
3) Nathan… he was a slow moving character but the deliberate unpacking of him and his story, I thought was so well done!
4) I will end with Benny… She is the teacher that I hope I am. The one that teaches kids where they are and makes them feel special by being able to share their story and BE HEARD. I really thought, as an urban public school teacher, I could relate to that love and frustration you have for these children that do become our kids!
DISLIKES:
1) not related to the story but the author’s note. I’m sure I read into it, but it sounded defensive. Again… it’s been a long day and it’s hard being a Black woman right now. So explaining word choice and why it’s used is so important. But don’t say that the telling our history has become so challenging to you… it’s figuring out how to be respectful, which you were. And that the story is represented as less than if you DON’T use period specific language. Many Black folks have heard the hate everyday in our current lives.
If you were just speaking of dialect, that explanation and use was fine. But again, just be careful when your lines blur… it’s not your ancestors’ story, it’s a story you found fascinating that you wanted to share.
LIKES:
1) the audiobook! Having Bahni Turpin be the voice was Hannie was brilliant. She is one of the best narrators out there and it made the book feel super authentic and respectful
2) the lost friends book. I loved that this was real… loved it and it was heartbreaking. All those people missing family and friends. They didn’t give up hope and I loved that!
3) Nathan… he was a slow moving character but the deliberate unpacking of him and his story, I thought was so well done!
4) I will end with Benny… She is the teacher that I hope I am. The one that teaches kids where they are and makes them feel special by being able to share their story and BE HEARD. I really thought, as an urban public school teacher, I could relate to that love and frustration you have for these children that do become our kids!
DISLIKES:
1) not related to the story but the author’s note. I’m sure I read into it, but it sounded defensive. Again… it’s been a long day and it’s hard being a Black woman right now. So explaining word choice and why it’s used is so important. But don’t say that the telling our history has become so challenging to you… it’s figuring out how to be respectful, which you were. And that the story is represented as less than if you DON’T use period specific language. Many Black folks have heard the hate everyday in our current lives.
If you were just speaking of dialect, that explanation and use was fine. But again, just be careful when your lines blur… it’s not your ancestors’ story, it’s a story you found fascinating that you wanted to share.
informative
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
inspiring
The ending killed all the momentum the entire book spent building up. What a let down!
This had the potential to be a five star book for me, but the structure really kept me at a distance from it. Going back-and-forth between the two stories was jarring each time.
Obviously I could sympathize with the struggling first year teacher at a resource-poor school, but the bits of her history that were left secret until the very end were less compelling and I didn’t need the budding romance one bit.
Hannie’s story was hard to read at times but I was much more intrigued by it and was usually annoyed to be pulled away from it—would have been a great book in its own or with trimmings of 1988 at the beginning and end, maybe.
Obviously I could sympathize with the struggling first year teacher at a resource-poor school, but the bits of her history that were left secret until the very end were less compelling and I didn’t need the budding romance one bit.
Hannie’s story was hard to read at times but I was much more intrigued by it and was usually annoyed to be pulled away from it—would have been a great book in its own or with trimmings of 1988 at the beginning and end, maybe.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Incredible
Excellent historical fiction set in the 1880’s and 1987. The more modern storyline was a bit trite and dull, but the past storyline made up for it and was very interesting and sucked me in. I read this mostly in print, but I did listen to a few chapters and the audio was really well done.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
I enjoyed a peak into this period of history. I never knew that the Book of Lost Friends existed and it was very eye opening to read these stories of loved ones looking for loved ones after so many years. What a great act of service this was to so many people.