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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I liked this book. I liked the history of it. I love Bonnie Turpin narration and I wanted to know how it ended. 4 stars bc I couldn’t get past the white teacher working miracles in the classroom
It moves back and forth in time and the more compelling sections were in the past. I liked the connection between the ads for lost friends and current residents of the town but found the main present character flat and a little too close to a white savior for comfort. That said, the writing was good and I’d recommend. A good summer read.
Set in Louisiana in 1875 and 1987, this story switches back and forth with every chapter. The reader is transported to post-Civil War with three young women and to a more modern-day time with a brand new teacher in a poor southern town. How these stories connect is what held my interest as a reader.
1875: Lavinia is a spoiled heir to a plantation, Juneau Jane is her illegitimate free-born half sister, and Hannie, Lavinia's recently freed slave.
1987: First-year teacher Benny (Benedetta Silva) lands in a poor, small town in Louisiana. Unfortunately, the students are used to teachers coming and going. While trying to make connections, she stumbles across the towns run-down plantation that houses plenty of history and secrets.
The actual "Lost Friends" ads really did appear in Southern newspapers for decades after the Civil War, as free slaves searched for loved ones who had been traded or sold off.
1875: Lavinia is a spoiled heir to a plantation, Juneau Jane is her illegitimate free-born half sister, and Hannie, Lavinia's recently freed slave.
1987: First-year teacher Benny (Benedetta Silva) lands in a poor, small town in Louisiana. Unfortunately, the students are used to teachers coming and going. While trying to make connections, she stumbles across the towns run-down plantation that houses plenty of history and secrets.
The actual "Lost Friends" ads really did appear in Southern newspapers for decades after the Civil War, as free slaves searched for loved ones who had been traded or sold off.
I kind of felt like this story was based on cliches and racial tropes.
I didn’t understand Hannie’s motivation to care for a white girl who had abused her and the half sister that was a stranger to her. I suppose she could be seen as “noble” or “heroic” but her motivation seemed thin. Why wouldn’t she stayed bonded to the people who loved and worked along side her. It seemed slightly “loyal slave girl” trope based (which is a form of racism). The book wasn’t even claiming Hannie had been treated well to inspire this motivation, so she has no motivation to nearly get herself linched several times. Maybe she had Stockholm syndrome at best that might have made for a better story.
As for Benny’s story -basically “white savior does white saving by falling in love with the white boy with a rich family and a good heart”.
I didn’t understand Hannie’s motivation to care for a white girl who had abused her and the half sister that was a stranger to her. I suppose she could be seen as “noble” or “heroic” but her motivation seemed thin. Why wouldn’t she stayed bonded to the people who loved and worked along side her. It seemed slightly “loyal slave girl” trope based (which is a form of racism). The book wasn’t even claiming Hannie had been treated well to inspire this motivation, so she has no motivation to nearly get herself linched several times. Maybe she had Stockholm syndrome at best that might have made for a better story.
As for Benny’s story -basically “white savior does white saving by falling in love with the white boy with a rich family and a good heart”.
My book club read Before We Were Yours a few years ago and we all loved it. She told the true story of the Tennessee Children’s Home which none of us had ever heard of. So when I saw her new release I couldn’t wait to get started.
It was a little slow to start, and the good stuff didn’t really begin until over 50% of the way through the book because there was so much ground story to lay. But the good stuff is GOOD STUFF!
While the book is long I feel like I could have used another 100 pages to wrap up the story. Maybe a sequel is planned to share more of Benny’s story. There’s this thing hiding the entire book that is quickly revealed but never concluded in the final two paragraphs.
I’m fascinated by the real Book of Lost Friends and the families who were never reunited and those who were. I think I want more civil war era historical fiction in my life.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was a little slow to start, and the good stuff didn’t really begin until over 50% of the way through the book because there was so much ground story to lay. But the good stuff is GOOD STUFF!
While the book is long I feel like I could have used another 100 pages to wrap up the story. Maybe a sequel is planned to share more of Benny’s story. There’s this thing hiding the entire book that is quickly revealed but never concluded in the final two paragraphs.
I’m fascinated by the real Book of Lost Friends and the families who were never reunited and those who were. I think I want more civil war era historical fiction in my life.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In 1875, advertisements called "Lost Friends" began appearing in the newspapers to help freed slaves find loved ones they were separated from through sales. Hannie learns about the advertisements while on an adventure from Louisiana to Texas with unlikely companions - Lavinia, daughter of Hannie's former owner, and Lavinia's Creole half sister Juneau Jane. With the help of Juneau Jane who can write, Hannie collects the names of more people on her travels and works to reunite others as she searches for her own missing family members.
Alongside that story, in 1987 Benedetta Silva gets a job at a school in a poor area in Louisiana and starts out discouraged at the mountain in front of her and the kids just to get them to focus in class. But when she stumbles upon an abandoned private library filled with books and historical records, she has an idea to engage her students.
I love a historical fiction novel that centers around a less well known topic, like the Lost Friends advertisements. Hannie's story was just heartbreaking, but also uniquely interesting as a freed slave becoming valued as a friend to those who had been in a position of power over her. Benny's story was its own, while also managing to connect the scars of Hannie's generation with what Benny's students were facing 100 years later. I enjoyed it!
Alongside that story, in 1987 Benedetta Silva gets a job at a school in a poor area in Louisiana and starts out discouraged at the mountain in front of her and the kids just to get them to focus in class. But when she stumbles upon an abandoned private library filled with books and historical records, she has an idea to engage her students.
I love a historical fiction novel that centers around a less well known topic, like the Lost Friends advertisements. Hannie's story was just heartbreaking, but also uniquely interesting as a freed slave becoming valued as a friend to those who had been in a position of power over her. Benny's story was its own, while also managing to connect the scars of Hannie's generation with what Benny's students were facing 100 years later. I enjoyed it!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
If you are a historical fiction fan, I highly recommend this gem!
I only finished this novel for a book club. I liked learning about the "Lost Friends" ads and appreciate the importance of reckoning with one's history, but I dislike Wingate's storytelling: Hannie's journey bored me, and Benny's final reveal about her past was anticlimactic. On top of this, I was irritated by Wingate's sentimentality and hints of gratuitous romance. If you're looking for romance in the Reconstruction Era, you'd be better off reading [a: Beverly Jenkins|199260|Beverly Jenkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1509684481p2/199260.jpg].
I am incensed by Wingate's seeming portrayal of William Gossett as a "good" slave owner. The portrayal brings to mind the more impactful [b: How the Word Is Passed|55643287|How the Word Is Passed A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America|Clint Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603917194l/55643287._SY75_.jpg|86766325]. One of the interviewees is a tour guide at the Whitney Plantation, which focuses on the lives of slaves. She claims the most common question from white visitors is whether there were any good slave owners. Her response: "It's like saying, hey, this person kidnapped your child, but they fed them well. So, they were a good person."
I am incensed by Wingate's seeming portrayal of William Gossett as a "good" slave owner. The portrayal brings to mind the more impactful [b: How the Word Is Passed|55643287|How the Word Is Passed A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America|Clint Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603917194l/55643287._SY75_.jpg|86766325]. One of the interviewees is a tour guide at the Whitney Plantation, which focuses on the lives of slaves. She claims the most common question from white visitors is whether there were any good slave owners. Her response: "It's like saying, hey, this person kidnapped your child, but they fed them well. So, they were a good person."