When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown
Opal Pruitt just wants a quiet summer where she can be like the white girls her age—carefree and happy. But as a “colored” seventeen-year-old girl on the cusp of adulthood, that is not to be her lot. The summer brings much turmoil between the blacks and the Klu Klux Klan. Opal ends up playing a significant part in the race war between the two groups, much to her regret.
This book was written from Opal’s point of view and gives the reader an inside look at how black communities functioned in the days before the Civil Rights movement. She loves her white employers but knows they do not understand her. She loves her extended family and depends on them heavily but knows that they are unable to truly protect her and that they may die trying.
The author populates the book with many interesting characters, including Opal, Granny, Lucille and Cedric. My favorite was Miss Lovenia. She was mysterious and perplexing. She seemed to understand Opal and wanted to try and help her, but her methods made both Opal and me uncomfortable. I think I would side with Opal’s Granny and say she practiced “hoodoo” regardless of what Miss Lovenia claimed. She did add an interesting element to the story though.
I appreciated this book because it gave me a glimpse into the life of a person different than myself. I admired Opal because despite the hate that existed, she still had hope for a better life. I am grateful to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for this, my honest review.

Angela Jackson-Brown’s When Stars Rain Down is a Southern historical novel I’ve posted about here before. Once I got the opportunity to read it, the story consumed my attention for a full day and a half. It whisked me right out of my own time and into the viewpoint of Opal Pruitt, a girl of nearly eighteen whose coming of age in the small, segregated town of Parsons, Georgia, gets complicated.

It’s the summer of 1936, and Opal has never kept company with boys before. Miss Birdie, her Granny who raised her after her mother left, won’t allow it. But two different young men she has known for years begin stirring up unexpected romantic feelings. The “Colored” and white residents of Parsons stay pretty much separate, although the elderly white widow, Miss Peggy, who employs both Granny and Opal as housekeepers, treats them both like family, and the two groups attend the Founder’s Day celebration every year.

When local KKK members decide to ride through Opal’s neighborhood, Colored Town, one night, the property destruction and subsequent brutality forces them all into a reckoning. Opal’s large, close-knit family is divided on what to do: should they trust in God and look out for one another, or should they retaliate and risk more violence?

Opal is an endearing character I admired and wanted to protect. Like other Southern girls of her age, she respects her elders (replying “yes, ma’am” to her Granny’s requests) but knows they don’t have all the answers. Opal takes pride in her cooking and cleaning work, which she enjoys, and in her beautiful homemade clothes, stitched from patterns shared by Miss Peggy. The story addresses racial tensions head-on, including the pain inflicted on Black people by well-intentioned but clueless white folks.

The characters’ joys and warm sense of community – Opal has a strong support system – also spring from the page. Many elements combine to enfold readers in the setting of Depression-era Georgia: the oppressive heat, the local vernacular, the smell of peaches and barbecue, and the thrill of the crowd as they see baseball star Satchel Paige play in a Negro League exhibition game. One favorite character is Miss Lobelia, the “hoodoo woman,” who has difficulty convincing Opal that her medicine doesn’t go against Christian ways.

When Stars Rain Down has themes obviously relevant for today, and it also speaks to the value of people listening to one another, and to what their own heart is telling them.

I didn’t want to put this down. Jackson-Brown is an enormously gifted writer.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

4 bright stars

Angela Jackson-Brown encapsulates the time and place of Georgia in the 1930s. From the publisher: ”Eighteen-year-old Opal is a young Black woman working as a housekeeper in a small Southern town in the 1930s - and then the Klan descends. A moving story that confronts America’s tragic past, When Stars Rain Down is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching.”

The voice of Opal captures and captivates. She has little education, no mama or daddy, but her loving granny plus uncles, aunts and cousins galore, give her faith and resilience as she becomes an adult and flirts with love and disaster. I especially liked Granny and Miss Lovenia, wise women in the truest sense of the world. Miss Lovenia is a healer who sometimes sees things. “Good things, bad things, in-between things. Sometimes I share what I see. Other times, I let people see in God’s own time.” I would love to see a follow-up book with Opal learning more from Miss Lovenia!

When the Stars Rain Down explores race relations. “Her version of the world was all black and white, right and wrong. Mine was every shade of gray you could imagine, where right and wrong only existed for the whitest members of the world.” It is important for Americans to know all their history, including the tragic, no pretty parts. Book groups will have great discussions about some of the moral dilemmas in the book.

I was able to listen to part of the book. Narrator, Joniece Abbot-Pratt did an outstanding job of differentiating characters and having an easy-to-understand Southern accent with excellent pacing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Stars Rain Down is a lyrical tale of family, friendship and romance. Taking place during the Jim Crow Era South, it celebrates how love can bloom even under the most difficult of circumstances.

Due to the setting, there are depictions of violence – both verbal and physical – perpetrated against Blacks by racists.

Opal Pruitt has followed in her grandmother’s footsteps and become housekeeper/cook for Miss Peggy. Over the decades the two older ladies developed a strong friendship and the same can be said for Miss Peggy’s grandson, Jimmy Earl and Opal. They grew up together, playing and laughing as they ran around the gardens of Ms. Peggy’s estate. When Opal learns Jimmy Earl is coming home from college, she gives up a coveted chance to go to Atlanta and stays to help the two older ladies cook all his favorite dishes.

When she goes home to Colored Town that evening, Opal finds herself feeling unusually somber. On occasion, she gets a premonition that her life is about to change and something about Jimmy Earl’s return home has her feeling that way now. When she takes a walk to work through her emotions she meets up with Cedric (nicknamed Stank) Perkins, who gives her her first kiss and asks to start calling on her. Opal’s Granny has kept her from dating but since Opal will be turning eighteen soon, she figures Cedric’s courtship will be welcomed – or at least tolerated. Opal gives him permission and wonders if this is the event that had her feeling like something momentous was in the air.

When she heads back to work the next day, Opal falls into the familiar routine of laughing and teasing with Jimmy Earl but there is something unfamiliar going on between them. They seem to be far more cognizant of the fact that they are a grown man and woman, something which has never factored into their relationship in the past. When Opal sees Granny and Jimmy Earl whispering together, she can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with her.

It does, but only in a general sense. Jimmy Earl was informing her grandmother that the Klu Klux Klan plan to attack Colored Town that evening. Granny warns the whole community, and they are all able to stay safe although it is a close call. Granny’s chicken coop is burned down with the chickens still in it and Jimmy Earl’s cousin Skeeter, who seems obsessed with Opal, bangs on her door threatening to break in and hurt her and her grandmother, until Jimmy Earl shows up to drag him away. When Jimmy Earl returns to make sure Opal and her Granny are all right, Opal gives him a hug. Her uncles and several other men of the community see it and are not pleased with the casual friendliness and intimacy between the two. Stank especially seems upset by it. It turns out both the attack and subsequent hug are a portent of things to come, emblematic of what the long hot summer holds for the people of Parsons, GA and Opal in particular.

The author does an absolutely fabulous job of capturing the complexities of racial relationships in the South. We see the closeness between people who grow up together, like Jimmy Earl and Opal, and of people who work together for decades, like Granny and Miss Peggy but we also see the tension caused by the inequality in those relationships. While Jimmy Earl and Miss Peggy are forward-thinking and progressive in their relationships with their Black friends and neighbors, their attitude still contains more than a touch of paternalism and a sense not of egalitarianism but charity. This attitude is especially obvious in Civil Rights Activist/reporter Lori Beth Parsons who publishes an article revolving around Opal, meant to highlight all that white and Black women have in common but which backfires horribly.

I loved the complex depiction of family in the story. The Pruits are close-knit and loving, helping each other to achieve their dreams. While Opal’s Uncle Myron pushes her to pursue more education, something she doesn’t want to do, he does so from a position of care and respect. This is contrasted with Jimmy Earl’s family, whom he loves deeply, but in which only Miss Peggy shows a comparable love and respect back to him. While Skeeter, Jimmy Earl’s deadbeat father and other members of that side of his family have a connection with him, it is clear it is one that is filled with trouble and that involves them wanting something in exchange for their ‘love’.

The romance in the tale captures beautifully the times in which it is set. Both suitors are strong, kind, caring men who value Opal for who she is. Cedric likes that being with Opal makes him want to be as responsible and mature as he can be; he thinks constantly of the future and what he wants for them going forward. I liked the give and take between him and Opal and could see the two of them growing old together happily – and being happy through all of the times in between.

Jimmy Earl appreciates that everything about Opal reminds him of a happier, more carefree past. As he notices how fragile his grandmother is and becomes aware of how much responsibility will be his in the near future, Jimmy Earl appreciates how he can relax and be his fun-loving, lackadaisical former self with Opal. He also recongizes how Opal keeps his life running. Miss Peggy and Opal’s Granny like to think they are handling things but in truth it is Opal, working quietly behind the scenes, who takes care of the house and both women. Where Cedric is focused on building a life with Opal, Jimmy Earl’s focus is on the beauty of the relationship they have always had. While both men love her, only one offers a truly viable future and it is interesting to watch Opal and Jimmy Earl work through their feelings, the reality of life in that time and place and what precisely that means for them as people going forward.

Opal is a wonderful heroine – smart, resourceful, kind and a genuinely good person.

This is an inspirational novel, and faith in God, as well as struggling with that faith during hard times, is a theme woven throughout the book. The author does an excellent job of utilizing this aspect of the story to show character growth as well as depicting the role religion plays in the Black community.

The only quibble I had with the novel was the inclusion of the “hoodoo” woman, Lovenia. I think she was included in the book to depict African medicinal practices and how some people within the Black community combine African faith elements with Christian worship, but the character felt out of place in the narrative and had no significant place in the plot. I found her a distracting and discordant element in an otherwise beautiful story.

When Stars Rain Down is an absolutely wonderful tale and one that I recommend to any reader of American historicals.

Beautifully written, this book goes on my list of top reads of the year. Opal Pruitt is one of the most memorable characters I have encountered in awhile. Her strong voice practically jumped off the page and held me captive until the end of her story.

Ms. Brown has penned a memorable story that reflects the heartache and lasting effects of racism that is just as relatable today as it was in the past. Told in first person, the reader is able to experience Opal's heartache and struggles of coming-of-age in 1936 in the South, riding the roller-coaster of emotions that accompany young love amidst a setting of hatred and bigotry. Tucked between the pages of a story filled with family and a strong sense of community, hope and joy, heartache and grief, is a strong faith thread that shines in the darkest moments.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Another amazing book that I'm having a hard time translating my feelings and thoughts about it because it is just brilliant and beautiful as it is!!

This is the story of Opal a beautiful girl who lived with her grandmother, her mother was no longer in the picture but she was so happy to live with a granny that loves her more than anything, she was brilliant, kind, and worked so hard for a living she and her granny worked at Miss Peggy's house a white widow woman who became very closed to Opals granny, she was kind and always embraced them like they were their family until things started to go down the road 1937 Parson Georgia was not the kindest place for black people to be around, they were constantly harassed by the Klan making it impossible for them to even walk around at night, this is when things started to break my heart.

The klan a bunch of white "entitle" people who felt like they were better than everybody, terrorizing the whole town at night and even showing up in places in daylight just to intimidate Opal and her family and friends. disgusting people really, and when things started to collapsed they even behaved worst, a bunch of cavemen, showing their ignorance in full force.

Opal had many, many dreams, she didn't bother anybody, she was just a teenage girl trying to survive life and at the same time helping her family to work and have a better life. Opal characters were beautiful as in she really was a kind girl and she didn't deserve any of the bad situations that happened to her especially at the end of the book, I didn't cry I sobbed with her life can be terrible sometimes that in a blink of an eye things can disappear forever.

Cedric was an important character in Opal's life is one of the reasons things also start going south, he was hot-headed but at the same time he was trying so hard to be the right kind man for Opal so I like him for that, that he was fighting an internal battle to be a good suitor for her and at the same time he was trying to be a good man, finding a good job that will bring him joy and more stability to his life and his future with the woman he loves.

When Stars Rain Down is one of those books that will inspire you and will break you and make you cry with the character over and over again but also will make you want to have a family like Opal's because they were so closed, they were united and they helped each other immensely. they were a good family, a close family, they supported each other and the love they had for Opal was just beautiful I wish I had uncles like that, you could feel the love how deep and immense was in Opal's family.

The secondary characters Lucille, MJ, Jimmy Earl, Miss Corine, Miss Peggy, Cheryl Anne, Reverend Perkins, Sister Perkins, Doc Henry, Miss Lovenia, Opal's Uncles, Little Bud, and many more were so amazing and caring I love them, they were funny protective, and very kind to granny and Opal this is what a good family looks like. what a warm feeling to read these wonderful characters, such as Miss Corine, Miss Peggy, and Jimmy Earl.

My only complaint is I really feel like Miss Peggy, and Jimmy Earl didn't deserve that ending, after all, they were always very kind to the family, I think they needed a better closer, I felt like Opal's hurting was not making her see that and make the relationship kind of awkward.

Overall When Stars Rain Down was excellent, This is one of those books that definitely will stay in my heart forever. I wish I can keep writing my feelings about the story but I don't want to give anything away. is just breathtaking.

It's 1936 in rural Parsons, Georgia and racial tensions simmer as high as the sultry summer heatwave. Family clans have mingled interracially for generations; but the Klan itself has established a mighty presence in this community and the fault lines are deepening. Every sundown brings the prospect of terror to 18-year-old Opal and the residents of Colored Town.

I love "voice-y" fiction; and I immediately fell in love with Angela Jackson-Browne's distinct literary voice, and "got" the world she built. I may be a northern girl; but every thing and every one in WHEN STARS RAIN DOWN is so perfectly drawn that I felt I understood them intimately and had known them forever.

Ms. Jackson-Browne has delivered an immersive and poignant page-turning novel that ratchets up the tension to a climax we see coming but, like every train wreck, we can't avert our eyes and all we can do is pray that our favorite characters make it through the inevitable violence. We are so steeped in her worlds of White Parsons and Colored Town on the other side of the tracks, and in every detail of their stunningly drawn, idiosyncratic, residents, that it's easy to feel that we've moved right in and are spying on the neighbors.

What could have been an interracial Romeo and Juliet of rural Georgia thankfully goes down a less expected path. The writing is gorgeous. I devoured this novel, bursting into tears aboard a cross-country flight, digging for Kleenex in my purse. With a richly developed cast of characters in a beautifully specific world rich with sensory details, Jackson-Browne's novel would make a phenomenal film,

When Stars Rain Down is a lyrical tale of family, friendship and romance. Taking place during the Jim Crow Era South, it celebrates how love can bloom even under the most difficult of circumstances.

Due to the setting, there are depictions of violence - both verbal and physical - perpetrated against Blacks by racists.

Opal Pruitt has followed in her grandmother’s footsteps and become housekeeper/cook for Miss Peggy. Over the decades the two older ladies developed a strong friendship and the same can be said for Miss Peggy’s grandson, Jimmy Earl and Opal. They grew up together, playing and laughing as they ran around the gardens of Ms. Peggy’s estate. When Opal learns Jimmy Earl is coming home from college, she gives up a coveted chance to go to Atlanta and stays to help the two older ladies cook all his favorite dishes.

When she goes home to Colored Town that evening, Opal finds herself feeling unusually somber. On occasion, she gets a premonition that her life is about to change and something about Jimmy Earl’s return home has her feeling that way now. When she takes a walk to work through her emotions she meets up with Cedric (nicknamed Stank) Perkins, who gives her her first kiss and asks to start calling on her. Opal’s Granny has kept her from dating but since Opal will be turning eighteen soon, she figures Cedric’s courtship will be welcomed - or at least tolerated. Opal gives him permission and wonders if this is the event that had her feeling like something momentous was in the air.

When she heads back to work the next day, Opal falls into the familiar routine of laughing and teasing with Jimmy Earl but there is something unfamiliar going on between them. They seem to be far more cognizant of the fact that they are a grown man and woman, something which has never factored into their relationship in the past. When Opal sees Granny and Jimmy Earl whispering together, she can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with her.

It does, but only in a general sense. Jimmy Earl was informing her grandmother that the Klu Klux Klan plan to attack Colored Town that evening. Granny warns the whole community, and they are all able to stay safe although it is a close call. Granny’s chicken coop is burned down with the chickens still in it and Jimmy Earl’s cousin Skeeter, who seems obsessed with Opal, bangs on her door threatening to break in and hurt her and her grandmother, until Jimmy Earl shows up to drag him away. When Jimmy Earl returns to make sure Opal and her Granny are all right, Opal gives him a hug. Her uncles and several other men of the community see it and are not pleased with the casual friendliness and intimacy between the two. Stank especially seems upset by it.  It turns out both the attack and subsequent hug are a portent of things to come, emblematic of what the long hot summer holds for the people of Parsons, GA and Opal in particular.

The author does an absolutely fabulous job of capturing the complexities of racial relationships in the South. We see the closeness between people who grow up together, like Jimmy Earl and Opal, and of people who work together for decades, like Granny and Miss Peggy but we also see the tension caused by the inequality in those relationships. While Jimmy Earl and Miss Peggy are forward-thinking and progressive in their relationships with their Black friends and neighbors, their attitude still contains more than a touch of paternalism and a sense not of egalitarianism but charity. This attitude is especially obvious in Civil Rights Activist/reporter Lori Beth Parsons who publishes an article revolving around Opal, meant to highlight all that white and Black women have in common but which backfires horribly.

I loved the complex depiction of family in the story. The Pruits are close-knit and loving, helping each other to achieve their dreams. While Opal’s Uncle Myron pushes her to pursue more education, something she doesn’t want to do, he does so from a position of care and respect. This is contrasted with Jimmy Earl’s family, whom he loves deeply, but in which only Miss Peggy shows a comparable love and respect back to him. While Skeeter, Jimmy Earl’s deadbeat father and other members of that side of his family have a connection  with him, it is clear it is one that is filled with trouble and that involves them wanting something in exchange for their ‘love’.

The romance in the tale captures beautifully the times in which it is set. Both suitors are strong, kind, caring men who value Opal for who she is. Cedric likes that being with Opal makes him want to be as responsible and mature as he can be; he thinks constantly of the future and what he wants for them going forward. I liked the give and take between him and Opal and could see the two of them growing old together happily - and being happy through all of the times in between.

Jimmy Earl appreciates that everything about Opal reminds him of a happier, more carefree past.  As he notices how fragile his grandmother is and becomes aware of how much responsibility will be his in the near future, Jimmy Earl appreciates how he can relax and be his fun-loving, lackadaisical former self with Opal. He also recongizes how Opal keeps his life running. Miss Peggy and Opal’s Granny like to think they are handling things but in truth it is Opal, working quietly behind the scenes, who takes care of the house and both women. Where Cedric is focused on building a life with Opal, Jimmy Earl’s focus is on the beauty of the relationship they have always had.  While both men love her, only one offers a truly viable future and it is interesting to watch Opal and Jimmy Earl work through their feelings, the reality of life in that time and place and what precisely that means for them as people going forward.

Opal is a wonderful heroine - smart, resourceful, kind and a genuinely good person.

This is an inspirational novel, and faith in God, as well as struggling with that faith during hard times, is a theme woven throughout the book. The author does an excellent job of utilizing this aspect of the story to show character growth as well as depicting the role religion plays in the Black community.

The only quibble I had with the novel was the inclusion of the “hoodoo” woman, Lovenia. I think she was included in the book to depict African medicinal practices and how some people within the Black community combine African faith elements with Christian worship, but the character felt out of place in the narrative  and had no significant place in the plot. I found her a distracting and discordant element in an otherwise beautiful story.

When Stars Rain Down is an absolutely wonderful tale and one that I recommend to any reader of American historicals.

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I highly recommend this beautifully written southern historical fiction novel. In 1936 Opal is about to become a woman and experience all small town Southern experiences, both the good and bad. The novel covers racism, the KKK, segregation, southern culture and religion. This is a beautifully written story about the south of the 1930s.

Slow burn but a great historical look at Parsons, Georgia in the 1930s.

Our main character Opal is going through a bunch of changes; physically and emotionally. Opal lives with her grandmother in Colored Town, a Black only neighborhood in 1930s Parsons, Georgia. We follow Opal as she navigates love, racism, family relationships, and violence against her beloved community.

The research done for this book was immaculate and causes the story to come alive. You will find yourself rooting for Opal and her family from the beginning to the end of this story. But be mindful that there are a LOT of characters and I at times forgot who was who. I also didn't really need the romance in this story - but that's coming for someone who isn't a huge fan of romance so take this note with a grain of salt.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of historical fiction.

Note: Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson, and Angela Jackson-Brown for the e-arc.

This beautiful novel explores the lives of a young woman and her family during the 1930s. In 1936, Opal Pruitt was introduced to the people of Parsons, Georgia. She is a young woman who works daily with her grandmother. Then one day, the KKK showed up in their town. The consequences of their actions caused a tragedy in their community. This book left me with an appreciation for historical fiction. It’s a great way to start the summer season. One of my favorite experiences from the book was the bond that Opal and her grandmother shared. Their unconditional love was just beautiful. This is a truly engaging and timeless novel. The characters are well-drawn and have strong personalities. Thank you, Thomas Nelson, for the gifted copy.

This was a slow and deliberate coming of age story set in Georgia. It follows the life of a young girl named Opal and she navigates life while growing up the midst of the KKK. These are tough stories to read, especially given how far we have to go in our society. Opal and her grandmother face the hate of the KKK while maintaining their faith and love and sense of community. A deeply moving story. ***3.5 stars***

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed historical fiction until I read Angela Jackson-Brown’s When Stars Rain Down. At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to our narrator and protagonist, Opal Pruitt. She is a 17-year-old on the cusp of adulthood, romance, and tragedy. The story begins slowly, with a look at the ordinary life of a black person living in rural Georgia in the 1930’s. Everything was normal in her neighborhood of Colored Town until the Ku Klux Klan terrorized Opal’s family and neighbors. This one night propels the story forward with no turning back. The consequences blend into the rest of the story naturally, and both expectedly and unexpectedly.

Angela Jackson-Brown developed the mundane, everyday life and narrative of Opal Pruitt perfectly, which makes us feel more connected to her when the traumatic events happen. Opal Pruitt is a quiet, shy, almost adult who everyone seems to underestimate. She is an honest character learning to listen to what she wants, but internally battling the pressures of who everyone around her wants her to be. By the internal monologue and the first person narration, we are able to see how fiery Opal is. We get to cheer her on and feel her battles with her. “I continued to walk, determined to get away from the sound of my family’s voices discussing me. This was a conversation that happened regularly. Everybody seemed to think they knew what was best for me, but seldom did anybody ever ask me what I wanted.”

Jackson-Brown has given us a story that is sincere. While reading it, it becomes obvious that she thought out every word meticulously and with solid research. She makes a story from the past feel as though the reader is there. She uses colloquial language in the narration and dialogue that feels natural for the story. It allows the reader to participate in that time of history.

From baseball to God-fearing folk, When Stars Rain Down makes a specific story resonate across generations. It taps into culture and history as though we are reading a memoir instead of a work of fiction. Jackson-Brown selected accurate icons and symbolic personalities and gave them a voice in dialogue and description.

This book made me smile, laugh, and cry. It made me feel connected to a character I would never know in real life. Jackson-Brown does this in the simplest ways: dialogue, setting, and voice. She made each character their own character. I could envision each person vividly and began to anticipate what they would say and do.

Jackson-Brown threaded minute bits of foreshadowing throughout the entire story which created anticipation as I read. I knew the climax would be a huge contrast to the rest of the story, but expected. I felt anticipation almost to the point of anxiety the entire time, waiting for the doom to take over the innocence of the protagonist. Despite her maturity, Opal is still naive and is now being forced to quickly learn her truths. We can feel those painful challenges with her.

This is a book that needs to be read. It is a book that gives us a look into another time that still holds truth to today’s world. Angela Jackson-Brown is a true talent and delivers her vision in every word she writes. When Stars Rain Down is a historical fiction novel that feels like a real story.




*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is what I would consider a slow burn and very character driven. The pace of the book starts off slow and stays the same throughout. At no point did I feel that the book "picked up," but I still enjoyed it. While I enjoyed all of the characters, I felt that some of the storylines weren't completely fleshed out. Without giving spoilers, the story line between the two love interests were lacking in some areas. It would favor one person more than the other and this caused a disconnect on the realistic nature of the relationships.

However, the author did a great job of introducing us to Opal's world. We learned a lot about her community, her family, and her. One of the strengths of this book is you get to see Opal grow as she endures life's tragic events during the summer of 1936 in Parsons, Georgia. Opal is a lovable character and I think the reader can't help but root for her, even if they can't relate to her.

It's a book I would recommend to those who love historical fiction and books that are very character driven.

Growing up in the small town of Parsons, Georgia, Opal Pruitt is content to work alongside her grandmother as a housekeeper. But the Ku Klux Klan's activity awakens racial tensions that force both sides to acknowledge what has been simmering under the surface in the aftermath of reconstruction.

A coming of age read, set in the summer of 1936. This is a well written read that explores themes of religion, family, growing up and race relations in the South. Poignant and heartbreaking, this book deals with difficult things, and features strong feminine characters. Opal is a compelling character who finds her strength over the course of the book, and I loved her close knit family, and Granny, who is always looking out for her.

But while this book does so many things right there were some details that gave me a serious pause. There is a "hoodoo" woman, Miss Lovenia, who helps with natural remedies that some people fear, she states that she is a non-practicing practicing Catholic. Granny, a devout Christian, doesn't approve of her and she sets Opal ill at ease at times. Her practices come off as New Age, and Omnist, and she states in one instance, "The Creator answers by many names. Allah, Yaweh, Elohim, El Roi....So many names...Then of course there are the other deities. Those who ruled the heavens and earth long before Jesus was a glimmer in the Creator's eye." Though Granny and Opal are both dubious of her, it is implied throughout the book that she does possess "the sight" and that she states her work are of God. Another time she says, "I listen to the spirits and I listen to God, and, to be honest the are one and the same." Also, when Opal is recalling the teachings of Reverend Perkins, "What if, like Reverend Perkins said, God was everything and everything was God?" Which is a statement that is in line with pathesism.

Overall, I wanted so much to highly recommend this book, but the serious erroneous teachings make it hard for me to recommend this book as it is being marketed as a Christian book, while espousing New Age, panthesistic, and Omnistic beliefs. The story is compelling as are the characters, in a turbulent time in history when many horrific crimes occurred over color and race. If you are still interested in reading this book, I would recommend it more as general market historical fiction, and say to beware of more mainstream handling of religion.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

*Note: I wrote this review the way that I did because I know that a majority of the people reading my reviews are looking for recommendations of Christian fiction.

I honestly didn't bargain for how this book was going to affect me so deeply. Once I started reading it, I had to read it all through.

Set in 1936, when the KKK was actively destroying and attacking black people, this is a story of the coming of age of a young black girl, Opal, her grandmother and Coloured Town in Parsons, Georgia. Told through Opal's eyes, I was drawn into the story immediately. On one hand you have Opal discovering love and romance and yet her very existence is at threat from the KKK. It's a great story of faith and community in the face of rabid racism and bitter hatred. Opal and her grandmother work for a white family and yet are not immune to the dastardly deeds of the KKK. In fact, one of the main culprits is the cousin of the of grandson of the lady they worked for.

Despite their being a large cast of characters, each of them was well etched out by the author. Opal and her grandmother stand out for their bravery and faith, but there were other strong characters too.

How will the black community stand up to this challenge? What will Opal do to protect herself, her family and her community? Will love win in the end? These are questions I kept asking myself as I read on. I like that the ending was not trite but very believable and in keeping with the who story.

What really shook me about this is that so many decades later, the story still remains relevant for many black communities.

A powerful story and a very memorable read.

The characters are the most important part of a book to me because they build the relationships between each other and the reader. This book sang loudly with some really solid characters, especially the women and, thus, the relationships between the women I cherish the most.

I was really excited to get back to reading this book between sessions, feeling at home in their town and learning from Opal's first person perspective. I am honored to have some insight from the perspective of a black woman and community in southern 1930s, an experience I can only approach through a book.

I laughed and wept with heaving sobs at different times in the book. I'm not convinced every gritty piece of the story was uncovered, however.

**Spoiler alert**
However, there were emotional loose ends for me, perhaps just because I felt a chemistry between some characters that were never addressed (not just romantic chemistry). The relationship between Opal and Cedric was pretty weak until the end, even though they were saying things alluding to the desire for marriage. The story didn't reveal enough of the process of them falling in love before Cedric got hurt.

That and the fact that there was this strong undercurrent of love between Opal and Jimmy Earl that was never much realized fell flat for me.

I would definitely read more from this author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It is rare that a book makes me cry. Jackson-Brown has captured the full range of human emotion, and she makes you feel it. From the blush of a first love to the heartbreak of tremendous loss, you'll take a wild ride through life with Opal in just a few short weeks.

This is not your typical historically-linked novel of black oppression. Jackson-Brown gives us full-fledged characters who are not solely dependent on their historical setting. You'll see hard choices you might disagree with and you'll come to understand the impact of trauma on a young life.

While I didn't love that the ending, as it felt a little too easy, that complaint is minor. The love story woven into the book is complicated by real human actions and emotions that are often missing from such stories. This book gave a real, honest, look at young love, black life in the Jim Crow era, and the true power of faith.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It’s hard not to love Opal, the main character, and everyone in the book that Opal loves. You can feel the familial connection throughout which always gives me warm and fuzzies.

The overall story was good but I expected there to be a lot more going on to make it a little bit fast paced. But I really liked Opal and didn’t mind reading her story.

I felt like the author was able to really add to the emotional aspects of the story and though it’s a situation I’ve never experienced, it had me crying.