I devoured Lisa Wingates first book, Before we were Yours. It was a great book group discussion choice.
It was very well researched, and enlightened us about a part of our past that was little or completely unknown.
Her next book, The Book of Lost Friends, again is historical fiction. She takes a piece of US history and brings it
to life as we follow a group of rag tag kids traveling in the south. They group is all searching for something.
Their families, a new life, friends. The way communication traveled in the past, from person to person, gives us a
new perspective. Its not as simple as placing a phone call or doing an internet search. Real newspaper postings
looking for lost relatives are sprinkled throughout the book. This was an ingenious way to keep the readers in
the past as we follow the group on their journey. Recommended read

Lisa Wingate has done it again! I love the juxtaposition in this story between past and present. What important themes and relatable characters. (even for this middle class northern white woman!) I love the extra theme interwoven about books and learning and libraries! Add this to your TBR today! The "Book of Lost Friends is a must read! #TheBookofLostFriends #NetGalley

Ah historical fiction you have my heart. I just don’t know how authors do it, write books such as these.

THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS was a striking, powerful novel of justice, humanity, survival, and remembrance. The writing, the history, it was all so rich here and I loved how the different pieces of the story ebbed and flowed in a subtle way throughout, eventually coming together in the end.

This is a dual-timeline story and I was pleased to find I enjoyed both equally. I got so caught up in the more modern 1980’s timeline, coming alongside an out of place schoolteacher in her fight for her underprivileged students. Maybe it was the relevance of that storyline even today, but everything about it from the characters (what is it about middle/high school aged kids in books that always steal my heart!?) to the message it got across really struck me. On the flip side, I appreciated the past 1870’s storyline and the portrayal of the slavery/post-slavery era that we become immersed in with the surprising journey of the three young women we meet. It was so atmospheric and had me turning pages, feeling haunted and disgusted at the evil that was rampant but also hopeful in the strength of the brave people separated from their families who were being poorly treated and worse, young and old alike. Also, I loved seeing the actual Lost Friends advertisements that were placed between chapters, which helped root me to the story all the more and was a really great touch. Literally the only thing I struggled with here was the pacing. The story took a while to really pick up and then was still slow moving to me at times.

This book has a lot to offer and especially for you HF lovers, I think you’d be missing out if you didn’t pick this one up!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary copy.

Lisa Wingate does it again! This is a beautifully written book told in a dual timeline. One story is about a time in history that was difficult for many. Most of us are aware of slavery and the way it tore families apart, but this book shares how families did what they could in order to stay together or to be able to find each other again if separated. The other part of the story is about a young teacher, in current times, that is trying to get her students interested in their education by assigning a project and working with them to learn about the town ancestors. It ties the past to the current time so the reader can get a glimpse of how the past molded our today. It is an emotional read, and one of hope.

The Book of Lost Friends is so well written it gives the feeling of what it must have been like to live through those times. Because I have some problems with concentration, I did have difficulty at first with the parts that take place in the 1870s, as it is written as Hannie, the former slave, would have actually spoken. So it took a bit of an adjustment. But I highly recommend The Book of Lost Friends!

As expected, this newest novel from Lisa Wingate was enjoyable AND sent me on an internet search to learn more. The author has not only created an emotionally captivating story, but has opened my eyes to an element of history I wasn't aware of, the lost friends ads that helped freed slaves find members of their family separated during slavery. The importance of family and shared history is a major theme and reading this during a pandemic while staying home, away from my family definitely elevated the emotions around that.

Like many books these days, there were two story lines that intertwined, Hannie's from 1875 and Benny's story from 1987. I liked both, though Hannie's was more compelling. Either one could have been their own book, however, the ending left much to be desired for me. It felt rushed and left me with a handful of questions.

I think I'll be in the minority with my three star rating, which I'm ok with because overall this book will be well received. Overall, I liked this book a lot, but the ending is what I'm left thinking about and I really wanted more from it.

I’m always moved by the stories Lisa Wingate brings to print. She does a wonderful job with her research of the real and true stories from our history. She then weaves those stories into her writing by way of creating fictional characters that reflect some of the real life parts. She leaves me thinking long after I finish a book and then wanting to know more about the real people behind the tales. They’re so sad and make me emotional about things that really happened. My heart hurts learning of these things that really happened and how people could be so horrible. I highly recommend this tragic story. As always, the characters stuck with me and made me feel a deep connection to them. I’m grateful to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book caught me by surprise. The concept intrigued me - parallel stories past & present about the "lost friends" letters in the Southwestern Christian Advocate that helped reunite former slaves and their families, and a modern story about descendants of some of those slaves who reconnect with their history.

It takes a skilled writer to construct a narrative that jumps between centuries but keeps a common thread running through both past and present. Often, one of the story threads is better developed and more interesting, but that doesn't happen here. Both past and present are are equally captivating. I found myself reading swiftly through chapters because I couldn't wait to find out what happened.

The story set in the past, that of Hannie Gossett, is wrenching and raw. The unspeakable way slave families were broken up and sold and how black women and girls were treated by white men and women is hard to read, but it is an important part of the narrative which makes the end of Hattie's story that much more satisfying.

The present day story about a naive but enthusiastic young teacher who finds a way to connect with her students through history is, at times, a bit too convenient. However, the teacher (Miss Silva), the adult characters, and the kids are well-developed and endearing.

This will appeal to Wingate's fan base, for sure, and would make a decent book club book. It must be said that there are better novels about life as a slave out there (Beloved and certainly The Water Dancer by Coates), but The Book of Lost Friends is a good addition to that genre of books and will introduce readers to the Lost Friends letters which can be viewed online. Recommended.

I jumped at the chance to read The Book of Lost Friends because I loved Lisa Wingate's book, Before We Were Yours. I had a little harder time getting into this book and the story didn't come together for me quite as quickly, but I was fascinated by the story of the book of lost friends. A collection of ads placed by former slaves trying to find their family members once emancipation had occurred. It is a duel timeline book with Hannie, her former mistress, and the mistresses half sister setting out on a journey to find their father. In the other time period, Benny has taken a teaching job and struggles to get the students interested in learning until they come up with a project to research their ancestors who lived in the town. In the end, I did enjoy the book and was glad to learn a little about the Lost Friends.

A beautiful telling of the stories of freed slaves searching for their loved ones who were sold into slavery. Lisa Wingate's Historical novels are so well-written they pull the reader in instantly. If you were a fan of 'Before We Were Yours', I highly recommend 'The Book of Lost Friends'.

1875: Hannie Gossett, freed slave and sharecropper carriers the often recited name and location of each one of her people that was stolen and sold off just as her mother admonished her to do just before they were separated for the last time.

When she spies the old master’s illegitimate daughter sneaking into the master’s house and then witnesses her and the master’s other daughter conspiring to track down their missing father, she pretends to be a boy and drives them to a meeting that will change the course of all of their lives forever.

1987: Benny Silva, a first year teacher, recently broken up from her fiancé and relocated to Louisiana, where she struggles to engage children that are distracted by empty stomachs or the need to watch younger siblings in a school that is underfunded and lacks supplies.

When she comes up with a project to engage the children about their own personal histories, she has no idea that her path will intersect with Hannie’s.

I loved the interspersed pieces of the post-Civil War newspaper, the Southwestern and it’s “Lost Friends” column. Hannie’s story arc was by far the most interesting part of this story. Benny’s seemed only to serve as a vehicle to get to Hannie’s and so fell a little flat for me. Her much alluded to secret was dropped at the end like an after thought and the stories of the people in her arc were left completely open with no answer as to how or if any of them move forwarded. The pacing felt a little slow and disjointed.

I really loved Before We Were Yours; I felt that it was a better and more cohesive story. The two timelines here did not meld in a satisfying way for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Two stories that both reflect what it means to find hope and family in unlikely places. I loved how the settings leapt off the page while their descriptions didn’t detract from the plot. I also love that as a girl raised in East Texas the places in both Louisiana and Texas were familiar to me. I was pulled into the stories and was constantly sad when I had to put the book down because I was so invested. Both stories were engaging and I loved how they were woven together at the end in a way I didn’t fully expect.

Yay! I finally finished a book! It would seem that since we are all sitting at home by ourselves that it would be conducive to reading. But for me, that has not been the case...

The Book of Lost Friends takes us back to 1875, where our narrator is Hannie, a former slave in this recent post-civil-war era.

And, back to 1987, where our narrator Benny is a brand new teacher in a small backwoods Louisiana school for black children.

We learn how Hannie was separated from her mom and many siblings when she was very young. Now she is just trying to work her land so that it will eventually belong to her. When the master of the plantation disappears, Hannie is worried that all their hard work will be for nothing if they can't find the papers that were signed when they began to work the land. She goes on a harrowing adventure with some unlikely companions to find the master. On this adventure, she learns about a newspaper called the Southwestern that runs ads from black people who are looking for family that they were separated from before the war. Hannie and her companions begin to collect these stories and record them in a book as they travel.

Benny is struggling to connect with her students. They are poor and hungry and many of them don't come to school very much. She finds out the abandoned Gossett mansion close to her rented house contains a treasure trove of books. She vows to talk to her landlord about possibly getting her hands on some of them for use in her classroom. Doing this opens up a whole new history and gets Benny's students interested in learning about their pasts.

I don't want to say too much about how the two stories come together--I'm sure some of it is obvious to you. But the way it all is revealed is a very good story to read. Anyone who is interested in the history of the South and slavery shouldn't miss it. I did find The Book of Lost Friends a bit slow at times, but the characterizations are so good that you really become attached to these people.

You may have to persevere (I certainly did) -- but I think you will find The Book of Lost Friends well worth your time.

What a book! I received a DRC from Ballantine Books and started to read it but found myself getting caught up in all the crazy events of the world. I therefore decided to listen to the audiobook and absolutely became wrapped up in the dual timelines and incredibly history connecting the them

This story was heartbreaking and beautiful. The women are the backbone and their decisions and actions define not only their families but also their communities. I cannot say enough about how much I loved this book and really must give a shout out to the narrators of The Book of Lost Friends. They brought this book to life for me and kept me wanting to listen a little longer to hear what would happen next.

I would highly recommend this book, particularly in the audiobook form. Happy listening indeed!

Fantastic book with the past and the present woven together. The news paper clippings from the book that were printed in local newspapers for preachers to read to their congregation to help reunite families. 3 young women searching for the truth of their family after the civil war in the south. A new teacher hoping to reach her students. A project that brings the students, the town and these 3 young women full circle.

"We die once when the last breath leaves our bodies. We die a second time when the last person speaks our name. The first death is beyond our control, but the second one we can strive to prevent."

Full five stars. I loved it. This is my first Lisa Wingate book and a cannot wait to read more of her books. I loved the two timelines equally and enjoyed the relationships that both main characters built with other characters. Both main characters refused to stand down, they kept going. Hannie kept going when people tried to stop her for being black and Benny kept going when the rich family and school administration in town tried to shut down her class project.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that enjoys dual timeline historical fiction books as well as historical fiction books that take place after the civil war/follow emancipated slaves.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC. I had previously enjoyed Before We Were Yours when I requested this book also by Lisa Wingate. This book tells the stories of two women, born about one hundred years apart, but with a common thread. Hannie Gossett was born a slave in the Gossett Plantation. The Master had another family with a “yellow” woman. Lavinia,born of Gossett’s wife and , Juneau Jane, born of his mistress, were about the same age, and were in competition for inheritance. Hannie was looking for her kin and so she undertook to travel west with Lavinia and Juneau Jane when they needed to track down their father. On their journey they became correspondents for Lost Friends, a movement in post- emancipation South, which enabled former slaves to track down their relatives.

The author switched back and forth between that story and that of Benedetto Silva, who, in the 1980s, took a job as a high school teacher in a poor school district near the run down Gossett mansion. In order to motivate her extremely disinterested students, she cajoled them into researching some of their ancestors who had lived and died in the area. With the help of Nathan Gossett, the last descendant, she is able to solve some mysteries.

The author took me into unfamiliar territory in this engaging and well written work of historical fiction. The relationship among the black, white, and mixed race women was surprising but believable in light of the situation.

A heartwarming story of family, friendship and loss told in dual timelines. This one felt much lighter than most historical fiction and was an enjoyable light read for me. I really loved the intertwining of Benny and Hannie’s story and how it highlighted how much we have to learn from our history. I personally favored Hannie’s journey more as a slave in 1875 than that of Benny, a school teacher in 1987 but was intrigued at how they connected as the story unfolded. The journey Hannie goes on with Lavinia and Juneau June is beautiful and moving and gives us the most inspiring bits of history within the “Lost Friends” newspaper ads. The author provides a well written story that showcases a time in history we can learn from and be better for knowing. The research done to bring this story to life is impressive and set a foundation for us to be able to appreciate these girls and the powerful story they tell.

A little hard to buy three girls dressing as boys and getting away with it. But otherwise good historical fiction.

I finished Lisa’s new book, The Book of Lost Friends. I had to think about it for a few days before writing my review. Lisa Wingate is a masterful storyteller. She brought the lives of Hannie, Lavina, Juneau Jane, and Benny to life. This story is told in dual time periods. The first time period is set after the Civil War in 1875 in Louisiana. Lavina is the white daughter of a slave-owner and Juneau Jane is a mulatto half-sister who lives in New Orleans in a house her father set up for mother. Hannie was one of Lavina’s family slaves who is now a sharecropper. Her siblings and mother were sold. For various reasons thethree go on a journey to Texas. Along the way, while staying in a church, they find the wall covered in newspaper ads of previous slaves looking for relatives.

The second story, set in 1987, is about a young first year teacher, Benny, who Goes to Louisiana to teach at a poverty stricken school. As a former teacher, I loved how Wingate portrayed Benny who had a rough life growing up. Benny is having great difficulty trying to get the kids to buy into learning.

How these two stories come together is heartwarming after each character’s struggles in life. Wingate’s writing is exquisite, and I wrote down several quotes. The authors’s attention to detail and her evidence of historical research in the Author Notes is amazing. I think bookclubs will enjoy discussing this book. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.