A review by louisekf
Confessions in B-Flat by Donna Hill

4.0

At its heart, Confessions in B Flat is a romance, but what a romance! It is set against the backdrop of the civil unrest of the 1960s. The female main character, Anita, is a follower of Malcolm X and the male main character, Jason, is a follower of Dr. Martin Luther King. They spar verbally but they have an innate attraction that allows them to “agree to disagree”, realizing that they have the same goals, just different approaches. I loved the family dynamics of both families. I didn’t fully understand the motivation for a big decision by Jason toward the end of the book, but that might be my 20-20 hindsight looking back at the long-term impact of the Vietnam War. The writer beautifully brought to life two New York City neighborhoods: Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant. There are some lovely extras, including historical photos and links to speeches by Malcolm X and others. The book features cameo appearances by many heroes of the civil rights movement: MLK, Malcolm X, John Lewis, Bayard Ruskin, Andrew Young and others. The book is dedicated to John Lewis, who we lost so recently.

Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing / Sideways Books for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own.