No such thing as mercy without truth or truth without mercy. God granted them both to us all. Mercy is to take pity, while truth is a reliable thing. One is a feeling, an emotion untouchable and the other is concrete veracity.

Angel of Greenwood is one of the most beautiful YA books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. The book opens up on May 19th, 1921…. 12 days before the Tulsa Race Massacre occurs. We get to traverse the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahama (better known as Black Wall Street), through the eyes of 16 year old Angel Hill and 17 year old Isaiah Wilson. Angel, the Christian girl known to the Greenwood community as selfless and big hearted…always willing to help people in need. However, to her classmates she was the goody two shoes that left much to be desired in the looks department. Isaiah Wilson was largely known as a town troublemaker because of his association with his best friend Muggy Little Jr, the town butcher’s son. His English teacher however, through his poetry, has learned that there is much more to Isaiah than what meets the eye. When Isaiah sees Angel dance at Church, he becomes captivated with her grace and beauty. Their English teacher pairs them together on a book mobile project, and a teenage love story blooms.

I think this book would be an excellent book for young adults to read to grasp the entirety of what was lost in the Tulsa Race Massacre. It seems the world is just now realizing that the event even occurred and most accounts of the incident are very black and white and too scholarly for young adults to find engaging. This fictionalized version of the incident adds depth and color to that horrible incident, and will make young adults think about the people of the Greenwood district and their individual stories. We get to see the hopes, dreams, and beauty of an all black town full of promise in spite of knowing that just across the tracks life was much different. Reading this novel made me realize how beautiful it would be for black children to grow up truly free……free to think, free to love, free to BE. While Isaiah and Angel didn’t have perfect lives, the issues they faced as teenagers are normal facts of life, there were no worries of police brutality, senseless killings, and things of the like. I loved that the author introduced young readers to W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington and other classic authors and works. I also loved that Angel was a dark skinned beauty and a love interest. As a woman of a darker complexion, I especially love seeing books for young adults were we are seen as beautiful love interests.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to help a young adult understand what Black Wall Street truly represented and the importance of striving to make another community like that one again in the future. It’s a wholesome story full of very important life lessons. This book doesn’t touch on the extent of the damage done by The Tulsa Race Riot as it’s fictionalized, but it will give them a starting point on wanting to research the actual incident.

This was a beautifully written story with such a tragic piece of history as the backdrop. The relationship between the MC and all of the towns people was so pure and Angel's outlook on life given the circumstances was powerful. The massacre that took place on May 31, 1921 is heartbreaking and I honestly don't remember learning about it in school; that's really disturbing. Randi Pink was able to bring this event to the forefront of the YA genre and still create a hope inspiring story.

I am so grateful to have received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I think this book needs to be immediately added to all United States high school reading requirement lists. The main characters may be fictional, but the feelings of a fully functioning town being demolished by hate are something I think we all need to learn about. This story is a historical fiction that draws you in. I had only read 41%, but I had to read to the end tonight. I could not put it down!

This historical fiction novel is set in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area during high tensions towards the black community in Greendwood. The characters were relatable to today's youth despite the time period. I appreciated the historical research and accuracy of this event. I am from Oklahoma and familiar with this tragic event, and feel like it is a topic worth discussing all over the country. I believe teen readers will enjoy the story of Angel and Isaac and learn about this time period and event through their story. This is a book I look forward to having on our library shelves.

I compared this book to Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham while reading it. It was a book I also enjoyed a few years ago. Even though the characters and plot were very different they both highlighted a tragic event in our state's history. History and English teachers would appreciate it's timeliness and relevance to our state's history.

The book follows Isaiah, the town's misunderstood troublemaker, and Angel, the goody-goody loner. Forced to work together at a summer job, the two fall in love over their mutual love of books. But everything changes on the evening of May 31, 1921. Angel of Greenwood depicts the tragedy behind the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst outbreaks of racial violence in American history, but more importantly, Randi leaves readers with a message of resilience, honoring the people of Greenwood and their strength.

This book really hurt my heart in both a good and bad way. Between this being an all black town, the guilt felt by people in the community, the character development, and most of all seeing two teens fall in love. This is by no means a love story, but at the same time it is. The love for community, for your family, and for your people. Randi Pink, gave us a story of fiction, but that could easily have been real. That’s why it hurt. To read and know that the Tulsa Massacre happened and that this story could have been a love story of so many people from this town, it hurt to read. I highly recommend this book, and you should get to it as soon as possible.

An unlikely love story where two young people with conflicting ideologies are drawn to each other and smooth the sharp edges life has served them both in a place where they are free to be Black and unapologetically so. They lived in Greenwood, Oklahoma where Blackness was a strength, was revered, was a reason to be proud. They were safe to meander through the ups and downs of falling in love with no restraint or fear of what could happen to them in 1920s America. That is until it all burns down.

I absolutely loved this novel. I loved the innocence of two kids falling in love. I loved the conflicting ideologies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Dubois as a battleground for their budding love. I loved the strength they both found in knowledge, books, and words. I loved that their love wasn't easy, but it was true. And I loved that it was able to withstand the burn.

Phenominal novel :)

Greenwood, OK is a thriving black owned and run town. Families are thriving and take care of each other. Teenagers Angel and Isaiah live in Greenwood. Angel is kind and caring. The type of person people flock to. Isaiah is also caring, but gets too caught up in the often cruel hijinx of his friend, Muggy. Then junior year of high school, Isaiah sees Angel dance at church. She shares her love and spirit with the congregation. Only then does Isaiah see Angel. After getting to know her, he realizes he can be a better person. Then comes the fires and massacre of 1921. Angel and Isaiah help save people and get them to safety as the city is being burned by mobs of white residents of Tulsa, OK. This is a heartrending, coming of age story based on real life events. In 1921, the U.S. committed genocide on its own people by burning their town and dropping explosives on them. A must read for grades 6 up.

This shouldn't have taken me almost two weeks to read, but it did. I started it on January 4. I was reading it on January 6 when the insurrection started. In June 1921, Tulsa racial riots destroyed the upwardly mobile Greenwood. January 6, I saw the confederate (it gets NO capitals from me) flag in our Capitol by people who have been legitimized by a president (no capitals).

As I read I had to process every word. This is a young adult book that is a love story. It is also a story of race and fear. According to the author, it was originally meant to just be a love story, but her characters fit well into the retelling of the destruction in Greenwood.

Greenwood is a tale as old as this country. It started as a result of a white woman wrongfully accusing a black man of attacking her in an elevator. This is much like the woman in the park who called the police on a black an who dared to ask her to lease her dog.

It is also a story of two young people who have different philosophies about the way black people need to move ahead. One favoring Booker T Washington who says "Dignify and glorify common labor. It is at the bottom of life that we must begin, not at the top." And the other favoring WEB DuBois who says "I believe in liberty for all men; the space to stretch their arms and their souls; the right to breathe and the right to vote; the freedom to choose their friends, enjoy the sunshine and ride on the railroads, uncursed by color; thinking, dreaming, working as they will in a Kingdom of God and Love."

We have not moved the needle on race much. We may not experience the burning riots that occurred in Tulsa, but we watched half of the nation vote for a president who is the very epitome of racist. I saw friends and family decide that a president being blatantly racist is NOT a deal-breaker. This does make one racist, whether they can ever admit it to themselves or not.

This book is one of many that should be pressed into the hands of as many people as we can press it into. White men and women take it for granted that our race is something we benefit from every single day we are on this earth. Only in God's home will we ever experience life without prejudice. I pray for the day when we can all serve our purpose as humans with no regard for race, gender, station, or who we love.

A gorgeous and moving love story set amidst the backdrop of historic Greenwood just before the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. A must read. See my review/interview with the author linked below.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I have not previously had the opportunity to read any historical fiction that deals with the events that occurred in Greenwood, OK in 1921. The first almost 3/4s of this book are quite slow as we get to know the characters of Angel and Isaiah. The last bit of the book made up for any lag in the first portion. The way Randi Pink described the burning, the evacuation of the Greenwood residents, and the looting done by the vengeful white people was so vivid. Pink also made excellent observations about the complicity of white women in white supremacy and acts of white power and revenge. This book and others like it should really be required reading in middle and high schools.

HMM okay, so like a lot of people probably I got interested in the Greenwood massacre after watching the Watchmen (ha) series on HBO. I also read [book:The Burning: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921|54860485] last year so I feel reasonably well-informed about the history presented here, and I think it really is such a horribly compelling moment in history and so illustrative of how fucked-up white privilege has been (and continues to be) in the US.

That said I did not like...love this book? The pacing felt off to me and the two narrators both felt more like capital-s Symbols than people. Isaiah's devotion to DuBois vs Angel's devotion to Booker T. Washington ended up making me feel like I was watching a high school student skit demonstrating the differences between two major Black thought leaders. I simultaneously felt like there wasn't enough character development and also like it took too long to get to the action? It just didn't really work for me as a reader. I also was not at all surprised when I got to the ending and Pink's afterword mentions that she had wanted to write a low-conflict book about two Black kids in love without being affected by racism and then later she learned about Greenwood and retroactively applied that idea to the historical setting? And I think I would have rather read either that book OR something that had initially been conceived of as being about Greenwood, but this felt a little weirdly cobbled together.

THAT SAID:
- It's an undeniably interesting historical event and for teen readers who might not have heard about it before, that will carry more appeal
- Always great to have more #OwnVoices Black romances
- Would be really useful as a classroom read especially in conjunction with a history curriculum

But ultimately not really my personal jam as a reader.

Powerful and beautifully written - I really enjoyed this book.

Angel of Greenwood is a dual perspective novel, following Angel and Isaiah and their growing relationship in 1921. Tulsa, OK is segregated and Greenwood is the black side of town. It's a thriving city, known as Black Wall Street. They pride themselves on being able to self-govern and thrive, despite being segregated. Angel is a dancer, who looks up to Booker T. Washington and believes she was put on earth to help people. Isaiah is a poet, inspired by his hero, WEB du Bois, and he believes they should be fighting for their right to be equal with whites. I loved the poetry, the quotes from both men, and their spirited debates over which was the right way. This story was surprisingly tender and lyrical, considering the content, and I loved that.

I didn't learn about the Tulsa Race Wars until I was an adult, so I think it's fantastic that this is a YA novel. I hope that more people will be able to learn about this ugly event in our not that distant history.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc!

This is a wonderful YA historical fiction novel that revolves around the 1921 attack on Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We get to meet Angel (caring, responsible, and loyal follower of Booker T. Washington) and Isaiah (the town troublemaker on the surface but actually, he is an avid reader, writes poetry in secret, and a devout follower of W. E. B. Du Bois). They are both residents of Greenwood and it is through their eyes that we get to witness the tragic events that lead up to that fateful day.

Although this book is a work of fiction, what happened to Greenwood is not. The chapters are short and engaging. I loved the characters and their growth, a few characters even surprised me. Some parts were hard to get through and stayed with me well after I finished the book.

Thank you Macmillan's Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for this ARC. I truly enjoyed it.

A fictionalized account of a truly horrific moment in history = the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

Isaiah is a teenaged boy, a fan of W.E.B. DuBois, and a prolific writer and poet. He's made some poor choices in the friend department and is beginning to see the error of his ways.
Angel is a teenaged girl. She's a dancer and a fan of Booker T. Washington. She strives to do good in the world, often putting her own needs last. Now that she's 16, maybe it's time to look out for her own needs, too.

Their teacher sees something in both of them and pulls them in for a special project. In the process, they find a connection.

It all goes to hell when a white mob attacks the Black community of Greenwood after a white woman claims to have been sexually assaulted by a Black man. This is a scenario that replayed itself way too many times in the South of the early 20th century.

The story was buried for years - to the extent that the local newspapers had removed it from their archives. So, this is an important story to be told.

As a high school history teacher, I see a lot of value in this book. I think teenagers will relate to the characters and be drawn into the story.

I saw a few historical inaccuracies that pulled me out of the story. For example, the teacher is referred to as "Ms." Ferris. I researched the origin of the term "Ms." and while there is evidence of its introduction in 1901, it did not come into regular usage until the 1980s. Also, there is a reference to the kids' middle school, a term not really used until the 1960s. In another passage, there is a reference to a student taking a girl's sanitary pad and sticking it to her skirt. Sanitary pads did not have adhesive in the 1920s and many women still used cloth. These are just a few examples of the late 20th/21st century that I felt spoiled the storytelling.

All in all, as I said above, it is an important story to be told and this Young Adult novel would be a welcome addition to a classroom library.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Childen's Publishing Group for an opportunity to read a digital advance copy in return for an honest review.

Isaiah Wilson struggles to step out of the shadows of those he has followed his whole life, especially Muggy Little Jr. Branded a troublemaker, Isaiah knows deep down that he is much more. He is a poet, a reader, and a believer in W.E.B. DuBois. Angel Hill also knows exactly who she is. She is a helper, a dancer, a passionate reader, and follows Booker T. Washington. While Isaiah, and many other young people his age, pay no mind to Angel, that changes the morning he sees her dance. Then, when their English teacher offers them both the chance to deliver books to people on the other side of Greenwood, their converging paths lead to a budding romance. Yet, as their love grows, their lives are irrevocably changed on May 31, 1921. A white mob descends on the idyllic Black community of Greenwood, burning it to the ground and killing countless people. Isaiah, Angel, and other Greenwood residents must band together to survive.

Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink blends classic love story, alternating perspectives, and history to give readers a comprehensive and intimate view into the lives of two Black teenagers living in Greenwood, OK. While Greenwood has largely been left out of the national historical record, a tragedy in and of itself, Pink breathes life into this once prosperous and thriving community. The narrative’s slow crescendo to the deadly and violent Tulsa Race Massacre effectively punctuates the devastating and shameful attack by the white mob. Once this moment is breached, the last few chapters will leave readers left with a palpable sense of loss, raw heartbreak, and a feeling of simmering injustice at such a hate-filled attack. As a result, Angel of Greenwood will stay with readers long after the narrative reaches its conclusion.

Angel of Greenwood opens many doors for students to learn about Greenwood, Black Wall Street, the Tulsa Race Massacre, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. DuBois. Although a relatively short read, its content provides ample opportunity for educators to more deeply explore this tragic event and investigate the ways it still echoes today.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher, Feiwel & Friends, for an eARC of this book.

“she was in every sense the black angel of his dreams” #angelofgreenwood
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A masterpiece of words. If you asked me a few days ago if I new the history of the events that took place on May 31, 1921 in Tulsa specifically a town of Greenwood. I would have said no. Where history has failed me it has also shown how blind the world is to not repeating it. Randi pink wrote a powerful book, one that has forever left an imprint on my heart and in my mind. It’s a book that everyone should. I will forever be great full fierce reads gave me the honor of reading such powerful words so early on. A story of love, anguish, pain, and power of using your voice and fighting the true enemy. It shows the importance of words through story’s and how much of an impact authors can truly carry.
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Synopsis:
Randi Pink's The Angel of Greenwood is a historical YA novel that takes place during the Greenwood Massacre of 1921, in an area of Tulsa, OK, known as the "Black Wall Street. Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Wilson is, on the surface, a town troublemaker, but is hiding that he is an avid reader and secret poet, never leaving home without his journal. A passionate follower of W.E.B. Du Bois, he believes that black people should rise up to claim their place as equals.Sixteen-year-old Angel Hill is a loner, mostly disregarded by her peers as a goody-goody. Her father is dying, and her family’s financial situation is in turmoil. Also, as a loyal follower of Booker T. Washington, she believes, through education and tolerance, that black people should rise slowly and without forced conflict.Though they’ve attended the same schools, Isaiah never noticed Angel as anything but a dorky, Bible toting church girl. Then their English teacher offers them a job on her mobile library, a three-wheel, two-seater bike. Angel can’t turn down the money and Isaiah is soon eager to be in such close quarters with Angel every afternoon.But life changes on May 31, 1921 when a vicious white mob storms the community of Greenwood, leaving the town destroyed and thousands of residents displaced. Only then, Isaiah, Angel, and their peers realize who their real enemies are.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was hard to finish. Not because it wasn't well written, but because it was absolutely heartbreaking. Even though this novel was fiction, May 31 1921 actually happened. Innocent people were burned alive, they were murdered in cold blood. Men, women and children alike were killed for no other reason than existing. 

Told in dual perspective, Angel of Greenwood is the heartbreaking story of two kids who are just living their lives as ordinary teenagers. At the beginning of the novel we get to know Angel and Isiah as normal teenagers. They have school, friends, families and even bullies. Suddenly they find themselves trying to survive that night in 1921 when their community burned down around them. Pink does an amazing job of breathing life into these characters and that terrifying night. Well written and heart breaking, Angel of Greenwood is an amazing book that should be near the top of everyone's "to read" list.

I don’t think I possess the words to adequately describe what this book did to me, but I’m going to try. This book punched me right in the gut and made me feel a full spectrum of emotions.

The story is told (mainly) from two perspectives: Isaiah and Angel. Angel feels she was put on this earth to be compassionate, forgiving, and most importantly, to take care of others. She is so selfless and caring though she is losing her father and her family is struggling. Isaiah is a bit of handful, and there were several times I wanted to shake him a little bit for his actions, but underneath his tough exterior is a boy willing to fight for what’s right.

The first approximately 80% of this focuses largely on Angel and Isaiah’s relationship and it’s development. They are tasked to work together over the summer distributing books, operating as a mobile library. Though it still felt a little bit like instant love, I was rooting for them to be together. They offered each other a nice balance, and challenged each other to see other perspectives than their own.

The last 20% of the book absolutely wrecked me. This is the part where I just don’t have the words to adequately articulate my feelings. The book ends with the Greenwood Massacre that took place on May 31 – June 1, 1921. This section was absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking. I had to read the entire thing through tears. There is insurmountable loss, redemption, and strength of character. Though this portion covers the atrocious acts that took place during the Greenwood Massacre, Pink ends on a note of hope.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Though this is a work of fiction, it is absolutely real. Pink does an excellent job of weaving fiction with historical fact and her writing is gripping.

Angel Of Greenwood is based on a brutal racial massacre that took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921-so poignant yet relevant because of recent events. The author had used this setting as a backdrop and weaved fictional characters and their journey through the book. We see the most affluent thriving black community of Greenwood through the eyes of Angel and Isaiah, you jump into their boots to marvel the world of 1920’s right after the war, despite the tensions brimming high Greenwood manages to become “Black Wall Street” until it is smoldered to ashes on one day

Randi Pink’s writing is mesmerizing, with a mix of poetry and prose she managed to somehow write a great melody albeit a melancholic one, that touches your heart strings, she doesn’t point fingers to blame but rather walks you through the horrid events gracefully for you to become the judge which created the needed impact.

The chemistry between Angel and Isaiah is simply alluring, it’s more of reverent intimacy than romance- something pure, and something Godly, the characters and their growth as they go through their own turmoils is excellently portrayed, while it might not be an easy book- it’s something you need to pick up to educate yourself

⚠️Trigger waring- Assault, Racism, Burning

Angel of Greenwood is a beautiful book. I fell in love with Angel and Isaiah and the way they fell for each other. To write something so idyllic and pure in the shadow of such looming destruction is a harsh contrast, but somehow it works. I definitely recommend this for anyone to read, and to use as a jumping-off point to learn more about the often overlooked history of the Tulsa massacre.