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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
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."
emotional
inspiring
slow-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 had trouble connecting with the characters at first and found this slow---the audiobook helped bring the characters to life. I liked Before We Were Yours better. This was a good story overall.
3.5 stars. I liked Hannie’s story but Benny’s was hard to believe and seemed like the dream of an English teacher :)
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
With two separate stories and two timelines I was immediately hooked. This tale of loss and hope especially appealed to me because I love to research my own family genealogy. It is a blend of fact and fiction and characters you want to learn more about.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A story told in two parts - from a newly freed slave woman in 1875 & a young, new teacher in the small, southern town in 1987.
The 1875 chapters reminded me at times of Demon Copperhead: a ragtag group of travelers, headed in roughly the same direction, carrying secrets they even keep from one another, meeting characters good & bad along the way. This section speaks to the relentless damage that slavery brought, as even “freeing” the slaves didn’t change how Black people were viewed or treated. Their families ripped apart, their friends scattered, their sense of home & connection destroyed. One woman begins to write “the book of lost friends” or a record of who you are & who you’re looking for. It becomes a way to connect people who have no other way to find one another.
The 1987 chapters speak to our connection to the past - and how not very long ago it all really was. Teaching in a small town, particularly one with significant race wars still happening, is a challenge. It becomes even more so when you try to inspire your students with out of the box projects & field trips & you keep getting told to shut up, stay quiet, look ahead not behind & every time you try to unearth voices that were silenced, they attempt to silence you too.
I found this book dragged a bit in the middle & there were so many side characters I got bogged down a bit but overall it was interesting & touched on a point in time (Reconstruction) that I haven’t read much of yet.
A story told in two parts - from a newly freed slave woman in 1875 & a young, new teacher in the small, southern town in 1987.
The 1875 chapters reminded me at times of Demon Copperhead: a ragtag group of travelers, headed in roughly the same direction, carrying secrets they even keep from one another, meeting characters good & bad along the way. This section speaks to the relentless damage that slavery brought, as even “freeing” the slaves didn’t change how Black people were viewed or treated. Their families ripped apart, their friends scattered, their sense of home & connection destroyed. One woman begins to write “the book of lost friends” or a record of who you are & who you’re looking for. It becomes a way to connect people who have no other way to find one another.
The 1987 chapters speak to our connection to the past - and how not very long ago it all really was. Teaching in a small town, particularly one with significant race wars still happening, is a challenge. It becomes even more so when you try to inspire your students with out of the box projects & field trips & you keep getting told to shut up, stay quiet, look ahead not behind & every time you try to unearth voices that were silenced, they attempt to silence you too.
I found this book dragged a bit in the middle & there were so many side characters I got bogged down a bit but overall it was interesting & touched on a point in time (Reconstruction) that I haven’t read much of yet.
I loved this book so much! It was a little slow at first but it definitely picked up! I enjoyed the dual POV and the two time periods. Hannie was such a great character and Benny as well. This book really made me appreciate the history that is all around us. I liked that the author included actual ads from the "The Book of Lost Friends" that really made me feel for all these people who had lost their friends and families. I definitely cried at some points.
A teacher and a Louisiana community in 1987 learn about their history. The reader learns about the newspaper adds written by freed men and women to try and locate lost loved ones after the Civil War. Story follows one of town ancestors in 1875.
Keeping up with how everyone is related is a bit difficult. Readers who can remember 1987 will appreciate cultural references to that time.
Keeping up with how everyone is related is a bit difficult. Readers who can remember 1987 will appreciate cultural references to that time.
Thank you @meetyournextbook for this suggestion.
4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book follows two timelines but both involve the Gossett family plantation. The first is set in 1875 following the two daughters and one slave of the owner. They are trying to find the land deeds and their father. Hannie gets tied up in their scheme when she follows them and their journey is a crazy ride. The other timeline is set in 1987 with Bennie a school teacher who is new to town. She’s just trying to do her job the best she can but divided city lines and under funded schools keep getting in the way.
While this book took awhile to pull me in once the story got going I was really hooked. I enjoyed the 1875 storyline more but I did love how the 1987 one tied in at the end.
Throughout the book are real ads from southern newspapers that were read to congregations searching for relatives of freed slaves whose family was lost or sold over time. This is a part of the book that was also tied in near the end and was so beautifully done. It is such a heartbreaking part of the story and of history.
4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book follows two timelines but both involve the Gossett family plantation. The first is set in 1875 following the two daughters and one slave of the owner. They are trying to find the land deeds and their father. Hannie gets tied up in their scheme when she follows them and their journey is a crazy ride. The other timeline is set in 1987 with Bennie a school teacher who is new to town. She’s just trying to do her job the best she can but divided city lines and under funded schools keep getting in the way.
While this book took awhile to pull me in once the story got going I was really hooked. I enjoyed the 1875 storyline more but I did love how the 1987 one tied in at the end.
Throughout the book are real ads from southern newspapers that were read to congregations searching for relatives of freed slaves whose family was lost or sold over time. This is a part of the book that was also tied in near the end and was so beautifully done. It is such a heartbreaking part of the story and of history.