Lisa Wingate does a great job of weaving the story of three young women from Louisiana, searching for loved ones during the Reconstruction and a new teacher during the late 80’s in Louisiana finding a way to relate and encourage her students. Sometimes you need to understand and accept your past to forge forward into your future.

Based on the real-life advertisements of former slaves searching for lost family members, this heartrending tale follows the journey of a young freed slave named Hannie. Born a slave with all her family members sold off, Hannie searches for any remaining relatives in the treacherous times during Reconstruction.

One hundred years later, a young and naive but well-meaning Yankee teacher finds herself sprouting roots in Louisiana and comes across the devastating records of the slave sales that will blow apart a community.

This poignant tale is a great find for both individuals and book clubs.

A sweeping historical, finely researched story, it is narrated by Hannie, a former slave girl in 1875 and Benny, a high school teacher in 1987. Back and forth they tell their stories, intersected by advertisements of lost friends, weaving the saga of the Gossett family of Louisiana together. It is a tale of adventure, mystery and romance showing the grit of strong characters who lived hard and made a difference. Wingate's characters come alive on the page and fans of When We Were Yours will appreciate yet another historically knitted book.

Beautifully written historical fiction. I’ve been in the south all my life and well aware of slavery and plantation owners, etc. This book opened my eyes to things that didn’t really cross my mind. These people that were bought and sold had families; most were sold away from one another where they might never see one another again. The Book Of Lost Friends brings some hope to reconnecting. I enjoyed Hatties journey and story in 1875 and then the story of the teacher a hundred years later and how the stories came together. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

I was wondering how this book would hold up against Before We Were Yours, because that was such a profound story that really touched my heart. This book did not disappoint. This author writes so eloquently and knows exactly how to draw their emotions out.

The Book of Lost Friends will have you broken-hearted, crying, cheering and amazingly thrilled by the end of the most often cruel masters of slaves. Forgetting the slaves are people that love their own families and friends and never forget them...especially after if they’re sold.
Five ++ stars for Lisa Wingate in this must read historical tale.

‘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.” Ok, so I stepped out of my usual genres and read this wonderful historical fiction. It is set in Texas and Louisiana and told from two points of view and two time periods. 1875, Hannie is separated from her large family and is looking to find them. 1987. Benny is a single teacher making a powerful difference in the small community. She is a newcomer. The two stories are masterfully woven together. I was never aware of the "lost friends" publications. I'm glad I read this. #netgalley @netgalley @thebookoflostfriends @lisawingate

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 3
Plot development: 3
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of Reading: 3

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate is an excellent historical fiction and literary masterpiece. It is an excellent dual timeline tale that weaves the reader a fabulous story that intersects and unfolds to a satisfying and heartfelt ending. This story has it all: history, heartbreak, barriers and troubles, and triumphs.

I enjoyed both main characters: Hannie in post- Civil War 1875 and Benedetta 1987 Louisiana. Hannie is trying to find family dispersed from the recent war. It was fascinating to learn about the “lost family” ads and searches that actually happened at that time. Benedetta is trying to find her purpose and footing as a new teacher in the South during the 1980s. I truly enjoyed both women, both timelines, and the images created by both stories. I even enjoyed the dialect that was used by the author, as it truly added to the experience.

The strength and perseverance that both women have in their respective times and despite their difficulties was inspiring and was definitely admiring. The determination despite what life has handed these women makes for a great read.

A mark of a good historical fiction is one that is memorable, invokes emotions, creates a picture in the reader’s mind to make them feel as if they were actually there, and also gives the reader insight and knowledge of a facet of history that they were not aware of before. This book hit all those marks for me.

This is an excellent read and what, I feel, Historical Fiction truly should be.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Ahhhh, this book! Lisa Wingate is one of my most favorite authors, and once again, she does not disappoint. Beautifully written book about such an important story that many of us have not heard about. The emotions and feelings she invokes in every single one of her books is unparalleled. Loved this beautiful story.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful, lyrical, heart-rending book. It's an important tale to tell, and I hadn't previously heard about the "lost friends" messages and attempts of former slaves to locate friends and loved ones. I'm glad to know this piece of the human story. The colloquial language and accents in this book are a bit hard to follow for me, not being from the South or already familiar with the speech patterns. But this book is worth taking your time with. Excellent job!

I loved this book. I really enjoyed how it flipped back and forth in time. It kept me on my toes and leaves the reader interested and never bored. The writing and storyline were both well developed and well written. I highly recommend this book to any who enjoy historical mysteries or just a well done fiction read. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I had a hard time getting into the story, and struggled some with Hannie's side of the story purely due to it being written 'in accent,' but once I was involved, this was a pretty interesting glimpse into the past. It goes back and forth between Hannie (1875) and Benny (1987). Hannie is trying to find her family - all former slaves - after the Civil War. Benny is a first-year teacher in a poor area of Louisiana, and she is struggling to get her feet under her. At first, you don't really know how these storylines are going to intersect which is at times intriguing and other times annoying, but when they do, many things suddenly become clear. The history involved is fascinating, too!

I thought this was a very good book by Lisa Wingate. It went back and forth between two time periods - 1875 and 1987. The 1875 time period focused on Hannie, an 18 year old former slave whose once large family was sold one by one when she was 6 years old by her master's brother in law when he was supposed to be taking them from the Louisiana plantation to a property in Texas. Hannie was the only one in her family that her master was able to find and recover. She still misses her family.

When Hannie ends up heading to Texas with her master's two daughters, one a daughter of his wife, and the other a daughter of his mulatto mistress, she quickly finds out about a newspaper where former slaves who were separated from their families advertise to try to find their loved ones. Hannie ends up talking to lots of people along the way, and recording their names and who they are looking for. At the same tine, she is looking for her own family.

The 1987 storyline features Benedetta, a 1st year teacher in a poverty stricken Louisiana school. She has to figure out how to interest her students in learning. Once she does, she doesn't get support from the school administration or some of the community.

This was an interesting book due to the storylines in the two time periods and the way they intersected. I liked the character of Hannie very much because she was courageous and took her responsibilities very seriously. Benedetta was also a great character. She was a young school teacher, nervous in her first job, yet willing to work hard and give all she had to get her students interested and involved in learning.

The idea that former slaves advertised for lost relatives was new to me, and I found it very touching and interesting. I liked the way that the more modern day storyline showed the characters becoming interested in the history of where they lived. This was a good story!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher and this is my honest review.