Get ready for a story that will evoke every emotion …sadness, laughter, extreme dislike, anxiousness, and joy. Suzette Harrison has written an historical romance/women’s fiction masterpiece that relates the story of an African American family who experienced the 1930’s Dustbowl exodus. The Dustbowl Orphans highlights the Wilson family, their trials, turmoil, triumphant, and determination that the family endured. As stated, it is indeed “a completely heartbreaking and unputdownable historical novel.”. I highly recommend this novel. It is a search, a search for family, respect, and honor told through two members of the same family but generations apart. I loved it, and I know you will also.. Ms Harrison is a master storyteller, as you will see when you read this story. You can thank me later.

I don’t’ even know where to begin with this story. There is so much emotion wrapped up from the first chapter to the last that it’s extremely hard to put it into words. This was a story that brought to life a story that I personally never thought about. True most people’s idea of the Dust Bowl is what they saw in the movie The Grapes of Wrath or the book, but it was so much more and there are people we never considered were part of the expansion west also.

Suzette D. Harrison has written an emotional, beautiful book about a period in history that needs more written about it than what is out there now. The research it must have taken to write this incredible story had to have been overwhelming and Harrison skillfully brought this story to life.

Thank you to #netgalley and #bookouture for allowing me to read this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

The cover shows two girls on a dust road in worn clothes looking into yonder distance. Meet Faith, 15, and Hope, 5, their story begins with their family’s farm in Oklahoma being devastated by the droughts of the early 1930s and the resultant dust bowl. Things were bad and Mama was begging her stubborn husband to move out to California, despite all the blood and tears spilt on the Oklahoma soil over a couple of generations to make their home there and then tragedy strikes, the eldest daughter, Charity is fatally bitten by a rattlesnake. Noah,10, the only boy is injured and the family pack up the mule cart to head to California out of the Dust Bowl Hell vowing to come back “when the land heals”. Barely had they moved any distance when a black blizzard descends and the two girls Faith and Hope find shelter in the cellar of a derelict house, trapped in the cellar they become “orphaned” from their parents, they are rescued by two poor white teens also heading west to California, Henry and Micah Owenslee (be careful with the spelling!).

The story starts dramatically and narrative pulls you in. There is a dual narrative, chapters alternate between Faith and Hope’s story in the mid 1930s and Zoe’s in contemporary California. Zoe is an art curator putting on an exhibition about the African-American experience of the great migration of the 1930s, a charming photographer contributing to the exhibition shows Zoe a photo taken of Faith and Hope in the 1930s en route to California, Faith is the spitting image of Zoe. Zoe is thus invested in the mystery of who the two girls in the photo are and how it can help fill in the missing parts of her own family tree.

The Black Okies have been largely airbrushed out of history, we don’t see them with Tom Joad in the ‘Grapes of Wrath’. Faith and Hope aren’t just alone and hungry they are also in the Jim Crow Era, where it was very dangerous to be black. When they get to California, it is not the Promised Land envisioned, in Roosevelt’s Soup Kitchens the blacks had to wait until the whites had been served. They find shelter in a boarding house but the landlady is acting very strangely.

This is a mesmerising tale, the characters are well fleshed out warts and all. Faith is a strong resolute lead, looking out for her little sister through all adversity. There are slight elements of magic realism, Micah is led to find the girls in the basement by the ghost of Charity, but such other-worldly elements don’t distract from the stark realism of the story. Usually with dual narratives it is common to favor one story over the other and whilst Faith’s story is marginally more gripping than Zoe’s, Zoe does have a strong intriguing character with her own personal tragedy and she is tenacious in digging into the mystery.

There are some surprising twists in the tale, one worthy of Jane Eyre. The historical detail feels authentic, you can almost taste the dust. The pacing is good. There is a touch of romance added as the story unfolds.
Maybe towards the end there are a few too many coincidences, the senior Owenslees may also be a little two dimensional, but it is difficult to find any faults with this amazing book. Very few books move me to tears but this did. I would thoroughly recommend this.

The book is due for publication in February 2022, I received an ARC from NetGalley and leave my honest review voluntarily.

4.2 Stars

One Liner: A compelling read about a girl’s determination to save her family.

Oklahoma, 1935: A fifteen-year-old Faith and her five-year-old sister Hope are on their way to California with their parents and brother. However, a black blizzard separates them from the parents. They somehow manage to reach California but realize that things have taken a turn for worse. Being black in a white country is always a risk.
After countless adventures, tricky situations, and nights with empty stomachs, the sisters seem to have found hope. But can they trust the woman to help them? Does she have a sinister plan for the sisters?
California, Present Time: Zoe has been a museum and art curator for almost all her life. She is no stranger to racism and prejudice. It’s no wonder that she plans an art exhibition to promote black and marginalized artists.
When her work brings her in touch with someone who shares an old picture, Zoe feels her world spinning beyond control. Grieving the loss of her child and marriage are no match for the sudden urge that fills her to trace her roots. Why did a child from the old photograph look exactly like her? How are the two of them related across generations?
With almost no trial to follow, Zoe stumbles ahead, guided by her determination and maybe a little help from the other world. Can Zoe find the truth of what happened all those decades ago? How will her discovery change her future?

What I Like:
• Faith and Zoe are strong in their own way. That made both tracks equally good, though I liked the historical one a tad more.
• Family plays a vital role throughout the book. It's the central theme.
• The characters are quite realistic with strengths and weaknesses. I could understand their decisions to a great extent.
• The story deals with racism without being preachy or over the top. Not surprising since the book is by an African-American woman. Doesn’t get authentic than this.
• Religion plays multiple roles in the book. One, as a way to expose the ultra-orthodox rigidities, and another to support the lead characters when things go wrong.
• There’s some otherworldly stuff in the book. I wasn’t sure how it would work. However, it came together better than I expected. (Still, it’s not for everyone.)
• The second half of the epilogue was a pleasant surprise.

What Didn’t Work for Me:
• The writing was heavy and slow in the first half. Even if it sets the stage, some adjectives and adverbs could go from the historical track.
• A few things seemed too coincidental towards the end. But I was ready to wrap up by then and didn’t mind the ease with which everything was streamlined and presented.

To sum up, The Dust Bowl Orphans is a poignant book with strong women whose love for their families is their biggest asset.
Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

After reading The Girl At The Back of the Bus, by the same author, I was excited to receive the ARC of her latest novel, The Dust Bowl Orphans, set during the Great Depression time.

The story is told from the perspectives of two women--Faith is a fifteen year old girl from a poverty ridden farm town in Oklahoma who with her little sister Hope tries to move to California to start a new life, set during 1935 and back in the present day, a woman named Zoe in California is trying to work out her own family tree when someone claims that she looks like a mirror image of Faith.

Though the story is fictional, the story is based on true events, set during the Great Depression time when many farmers from Oklahoma migrated to California in the hopes of better future. Reading about the Faith's story actually brought tears into my eyes--the hardships she went through living in poverty, how she had to bear responsibility of looking after her younger sister Hope and all the racist chants she had to face when segregation was still in place at that time. I also like how Faith's own life was rebuilt when she migrated to California, where she soon found her love and became a singer. I do like her relationship with her baby sister, Hope and also her friendship with the white boy named Micah.

I also liked reading Zoe's part as well. Zoe is clearly a likable character, going through an ugly divorce and working as a curator. After discovering the picture of Faith who looks like the mirror image of herself, Zoe sets about to find answers of her own family. DNA testing, how her family supported during her hard time when she is going through the divorce and the slow budding romance between her and the photographer, Shaun.

The writing was great, captivating and the author did a good job drawing the reader into the story and making the reader feel like they are a part of the story. It was too heartbreaking and emotional, and tear jerking reading Faith's story, and despite the fact that it was fictional, I couldn't help but feel, this must be how African-Americans felt and lived in the life of poverty like that. I was glad how things ended for Faith. The ending was great and I kind of expected that time of ending.

Overall, this was an emotional roller coasted ride, that will make you cry and laugh at the same time. This is an unputdownable historical fiction that will take you back to the life during the Great Depression and make you feel like you are a part of that life--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

"The Dust Bowl Orphans" is the tender story of a family living in Oklahoma during the dust storms called the "Black Blizards" or "The Dirty Thirties". This beautiful book is told in two timelines.


1935-
The Wilson family has lost everything they own including their automobile. Thomas and Mae Wilson have just buried their oldest daughter Charity, but are forced to leave on a wagon trip to California in hope of finding a better life for thier remaing kids Noah, Faith and Hope. They have just begun the journey when a massive dirt storm hits and they are forced to take cover separately. Faith and Hope get lost after the storm and are forced to make the trek to California alone.


Current Day-
Zoe Edwards age 39, has a masters degree in fine arts. She is very dedicated to the success of an art exhibit and is given some very old pictures from the 1930's to add to the event. She is very taken aback when she realizes she looks just like a girl in one of the old photographs. She begins searching the history behind the old prints.


This was a 5 star read the first half of the novel. I enjoyed the second part very much, but felt had some holes in the ending. I recommend this book for historical fiction fans. I laughed out loud at Zoe's "drug of choice" scene! Bravo for that one!


Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the honor of reviewing this eye-opening e-book. It is a stand-out novel and will be published February 7, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book has a great story that alternates between the family leaving during the Dust Bowl time and heading to California and the here and now with Zoe trying to price together her family tree. I like the way the two intertwined and each gave it's one set of clues as to that was going on. Overall, it is a concept that worked well for this book.

This book was excellent. The author pulled me in from the beginning of the story. I found myself so attached to the characters that I thought of them when I wasn’t reading. By the time I reached the end of the story I was in full blown tears. The strength Faith showed as she cared for her baby sister Hope was admirable. My heart hurt for them. Zoe was relentless in solving the mystery of her family despite only having a single photo to go on. I highly recommend this book.

The Great Depression is setting and Era of American History that I tend to not read about in fiction. Simply because not matter what the books tend to be more on the depressing side. Other than two classics by the same author Steinbeck I only read one other book besides this one set during that time period. And while this one made me cry and it took me a month to read because I had to space my reading out I did enjoy this one. And I was rooting for the kids. And of course the dual time setting helped break it up. But the characters and Imagine the people of the time period were resilient and didn’t give up because they had to be and they couldn’t.

This novel got off to a shaky start for me. I wonder if the author has at some point been told to vary her adjectives and adverbs as both seemed to be competing to use as much of a 1930’s thesaurus as possible. It completely distracted me from settling in to the novel. Thankfully when the author returned to the present day with Zoe it felt much more natural and I began to get so involved with the narrative that the clunky language of Faith’s sections didn’t bother me any more.
At the halfway point the novel took off and it led to feverish swiping on my Kindle and a 3:30am finish. With a twist I never saw coming and some crackling sexual tension both time frames had plenty to pull you back chapter after chapter. The ending was perfectly lovely, just as Faith and Hope deserved.

With greatful thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest opinion.
Mesmerising outstandingly poignant heartbreaking all come to mind just one amazing book. Can highly recommend.

Great story told with dual timelines that finally merge in a heartwarming story of Faith, Hope, and love. The Dust Bowl of the 30's drove families from the Midwest to California, mid included. But the Black Experience was shown in this story as two young girls are separated from their family and make their way across the country. Their story is researched in the present with the help of some unseen angels.

Reminiscent of Lisa Wingate, this is a sweeping multi-generational saga of the Dust Bowl that brings to light often-overlooked elements. The story vascillates between Faith's perspective in 1935 and Zoe's in the present day. Faith's story of her family and their difficult journey from Oklahoma to California is only that Okies know all too well, but it is true that the Caucasian perspective is the one usually told in history classes outside of this state. Graphic scenes bring horrifying scenes to life for the reader - something that needs to be done for full understanding. The end will make anyone with a heart cry, and the very very end is a satisfying conclusion that wraps all of the past up neatly for the reader.

The only thing I didn't like was Zoe's voice, as she embodies the victim mentality that continues to divide our country today. It's true that these stories need to be told, shared, and remembered, but it's not true that we need to be calling people OWLs and speaking poorly against non-Black-owned businesses...that only perpetuates racism moving forward. When my brown family moved here in the last century, they didn't fit in to either 'side of town.' Life was extremely difficult and they suffered many of the same atrocities, though not to the degree depicted in this story, but they never allowed us to internalize or dwell on the past - instead focusing on being our very best selves and forgetting the rest. Zoe's mentality does shift throughout the course of the book, so this is good.

Back in the 1930’s Faith and Hope had just lost their sister to a double snake bite. There is a dust storm blowing in and Faith runs to grab her little sister finding a disused house and cellar to protect them. Before the storm their family was at odds as part felt they should move away as they were living hand to mouth due to the arid conditions. The move like many around them would be to California.
Present day: Zoe is an art curator and has successfully negotiated a display of African- American art much to the chagrin of one of the museum's senior donors. She is thrilled when a semi well known photographer agrees to show some of his pictures as part of the programme. On meeting Zoe he recognises her- but they have never met. What transpires is a voyage of discovery about past lives and their own as well.
I quickly got into this, there is a warmth of character and a mystery feel about it. I also learnt things about the USA: How that even as few as 20 years ago there were covenants on houses in several states so that only caucasian’s could purchase them-the covenant having been written many years before and unable to be changed. This stopped me in my tracks aghast. (search racial covenants for more information).
I loved this and easily took to both Zoe and Faith- both had a determination and a spirit of tenacity against adversity. I wept at the latter chapters- I wo;t spoil anything other than to say they were tears of joy and emotion- to me the skill of a brilliant writer. A highly recommended interesting read.
#blogtour

“The Dust Bowl Orphans” by Suzette D. Harrison is a dual timeline historical fiction book. In the past, the story is about Faith and Hope Wilson, who end up separated from their parents in Oklahoma. They know that their family was to meet up in Los Angeles at the train station, so when a family says they’re traveling to LA and offers to take them along, Faith and Hope go - though a bit unwillingly. Upon their arrival in LA, things aren’t so wonderful in California, and through some twists and turns, Faith and Hope end up befriending a much kinder woman, though her female boss is another story. In the present timeline, we follow curator Zoe, who is going through some difficulties of her own. A photographer from an exhibit shows Zoe an old photograph that a relative had taken, and it’s the spitting image of Zoe herself as a teenager. The book weaves the two stories together in a wonderful way.

I enjoyed the way the author told this story and also how the story unfolded. There’s a bit of spiritualism in this book that wasn’t my taste, but I can see how it would be both comprehensive and enjoyable to others - not my cup of tea. I preferred Faith’s story to Zoe’s (except toward the end - it’s a spoiler, but I felt everything fell together too easily). I did enjoy Zoe’s frustrations with an ancestry site (I’ve had the same regarding spelling). Faith and Zoe both had spunk and I admired both women for that. I also liked the way that the author had both Faith and Zoe be strong, yet also obviously care about their families - Faith protected Hope and Zoe didn’t want to do anything that might hurt her grandfather regarding his past.

A compelling read about two young girls who get separated from their family during a dust storm. Harrison sets her newest novel in the depths of the Great Depression and a family that is broken. She interconnects with the contemporary story of Zoe, who discovers she has an uncanny resemblance to a young girl in a picture from the 1930s. I liked all the family history, which spanned a good deal of US history. I thought the writing was poignant and on point for era. Historical fiction is based on realism and the author hit it out of the park, dealing with sensitive topics.