A review by abbysbookadventure
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

Another excellent book by Charmaine Wilkerson. After absolutely loving Black Cake, I was so excited to see what she would write next and this didn't disappoint. This is a multigenerational saga that mixes stories of generations past alongside the present day main storyline. It reminded me a bit of Homegoing in that it traced the main family's lineage from ancestors being kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery in America all the way to present day, except this was tied to a specific family heirloom: a stoneware jar that was made by an enslaved ancestor. This book contains heavy themes (check triggers, though many are spelled out clearly in the synopsis) and is about generational trauma and grief, but it's also about resilience and healing. I highly recommend this powerful book. I went the audio route and the narrator was excellent.

It took me a long time to get through this one, which is more a comment on my state of mind/January being a tough month in the world and less about the book. If I'd had more momentum, I think there's a chance I might have rated it even higher, but I still really liked/loved it regardless.

Thank you so much @libro.fm and @prhaudio for the gifted audiobook and @randomhouse for the gifted ARC.
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