Journalist Maura Cheeks turns to fiction to explore the idea of reparations. Her protagonist, Willie (for Wilhemina) Revel had also been a journalist, but family obligations forced her to choose a different path, helping her father, Max, run his construction business. An old professor of Willie's, now president of the country, has introduced legislation called The Forgiveness Act, which will grant adult descendants of enslaved Africans $175,000 each to help make good on centuries of inequity. Willie's own grandfather, Marcus, suffered when the GI Bill failed to secure him a home loan or access to education because of redlining, and VA douchery.

But guess what? Reparations are not that simple, not even including the stupid name. Forgiveness? How about Apology?!? White people are not happy with Black people getting a handout, especially Black people who aren't poor. And guess what again? Only people of means are able to fund trips to southern historical societies to search for documentation to prove their ancestors' enslavement. It's a mess!

It's a heartbreaking concept that is well explored via Willie and her daughter, parents, grandparents, and friends. Highly recommended!

My sister recommended this book to me, and I've been recommending it to others. Thanks, NetGalley for the free ARC.

America is on the verge of passing the Forgiveness Act, allowing black families to claim $175,000 if they can prove slave lineage. This could help Willie Revel and her family but she must prove their roots.

I found this to be a very interesting look at the hypothetical situation of reparations. The pundits back and forth conversations were very realistic and thought provoking. I loved the family and getting to know them, although I got a little lost in the genealogy research towards the end. The political ramifications of the act is what I found most interesting and reactions of society- some good, many bad.

“There was no policy in America that had ever done entirely right by her people. It was a country built on hypocrisy; she had been taught to hold this skepticism in her heart since she was a child.”

Acts of Forgiveness comes out 2/13.

5 stars

This debut from Cheeks is a stunner. While the premise is remarkable and ambitious (and aspirational, obviously), the novel remains both understated and moving, and, well, this one really unexpectedly knocked my socks off.

The characters in this novel live in contemporary society but with an intriguing twist; they're in the midst of potentially passing the Forgiveness Act, which will provide each individual who can prove they have descended from an enslaved person a likely lifechanging amount of money. This money is intended to serve as a step toward forgiveness, not forgetting, and there is a lot of (appropriate) discussion about how this money can never right the wrongs of the past, but it can create some good will and some different possibilities for the future.

Coming into this novel, I anticipated a much more political and maybe even pedantic read, and transparently, these features are not at all off putting to me. What I got was so much more enriching that I expected: an intriguing character study not just of Willie, who is featured as a central character throughout, but also of many members of her family. And at its core, there's messaging about the importance of personal history, understanding one's roots, knowing and redefining a sense of place, and - my favorite - revealing the vital role of storytelling.

Once I started this novel, it was all I could think about during even brief moments when I was away from it. It resonated so much that I'm already considering teaching it during the upcoming term despite not knowing if it'll be available in local libraries for my students to access in a timely manner! Despite the logistics, this will be on one of my syllabi in the near future, and I will teach it, discuss it, and recommend it with enthusiasm for a long time to come.

I don't usually include widget shoutouts in my NetGalley reviews, but there are a few marketing managers who really come through with these widgets, dangling books that we may not come across on our own right there in our inboxes. Jordan Hill Forney, I thought you were a real one before, but I'm extra appreciative of this particular nudge.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Willie needs some information about her parents past, she decides to do some res¹research to learn more about her family. A good book to read.

This was a very thought-provoking book and covers the important and timely topic of reparations for direct descendants of slaves. I highly recommend this book for anyone participating in a book club. It lends itself to deep and meaningful conversations. Very well written.

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

The first female president, a new bill called the Forgiveness Act, which will pay reparations to descendants of enslaved people, a family struggling to make ends meet, and a daughter trying to save her family from bankruptcy.

We follow Willie and her family as she struggles to keep the family business afloat. Having given up her dreams of becoming a journalist, she took on a role in her father’s company and has struggled with her decisions since.

As Willie delves into her family history in order to qualify for the reparations, she discovers why her parents weren’t so quick to claim their money and how history and forgiveness can sometimes be so complicated that it spans generations.

This novel was unique and very enjoyable to read. While it was a bit slow-moving for me, I was pleasantly surprised at how the pace quickened at the book's mid-point. Without this change, I’m not sure I would have been able to finish.

I felt as if there was a slight distance or disconnect from the characters, as I couldn’t fully understand or truly empathize with them. I believe a bit more inner dialogue would have helped form that reader-to-character connection that is so important. Otherwise, I thought this was a genius and thought-provoking novel. I really wanted to give it five stars.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Acts of Forgiveness, by Maura Cheeks

Thank you to Ballantine Books/Random House and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book.

Acts of Forgiveness is an original and thought-provoking novel about the thorny issue of reparations for the injustices of slavery for contemporary Black Americans. It is told through one family’s experience, the Revels, a Black family that has moved from poverty to upper middle-class success in one generation, and focuses on the adult daughter, Willie (Wilhelmina), now 34 and the mother of Paloma, 10.

The story revolves around a proposed federal “Forgiveness Act,” which seeks to apologize for America’s history of slavery by providing $175,000 to every person who can prove their ancestors were slaves. Both Black and White Americans have mixed reactions to this bill, some of it surfacing as protests and violence on the part of White Americans against Black ones.

As it explores this difficult subject, the book also looks at family and identity issues. The need to prove ancestry to qualify for reparations raises questions about what one generation owes another (both the old to the young, and the young to the old), and about defining oneself when adopted or simply ignorant of one’s parents’ histories.

The book’s end is something of a letdown, perhaps too subtle, though it is rescued by the epilog. There also are many extraneous details, especially in the search through old records (for example, the steps with which microfiche is fed into a viewer). However, the substance and the fine writing make this a book well worth reading, thinking about, and discussing – a great book club choice.

The concept of reparations is of interest to me as a Black person in America with no generational wealth being handed down to me, someone who has worked hard to elevate my financial standing but with a long way to go. This book was a perfect way to explore the idea in a low risk narrative given that it’s fiction, but it really sticks with you conceptually and was a realistic look at the sociopolitical side of this issue. Interesting captivating read.

In Acts of Forgiveness, the first female President of the United States, in an unmentioned/undetermined time in the near future, has put forth an Act proposing to pay all African Americans who can establish a family history with ancestors with slaves a reparation payment of $175000. Willie is our main narrator, a 30-something woman living at home with her parents, and her pre-teen daughter, working for her father in his construction firm near Philadelphia. As the book opens, the Act is presumed to pass the House and the Senate, and the main action of the book revolves around Willie and her family as they try to save their struggling family business, while also tracing their ancestry to see if they qualify for the payment once the Act passes and is signed into law.

This book is not particularly long, but for some reason I struggled to finish it, the pacing felt uneven, and while the topic of hypothetical repayments for the atrocities that are and will be committed against African Americans in the United States was interesting, including the type of fall out that would happen after such an Act is passed, I had a difficult time connecting with the characters. The book felt like it meandered a bit too much, and the resolution was lacking as well.

For me, this book just wasn't quite there, which is why I'm rating it 3 stars. I think the execution was lacking and didn't live up to the potential of the premise.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Acts of Forgiveness was a great read: timely, thought-provoking, and different. What would it look like if the government paid reparations to every descendant of an enslaved African-American? Maura Cheeks's aim with this story is to paint that picture for us.

The Revels are a well-off family. Willie's father started a contractor business that has been successful. In her lifetime, they moved from a poorer, mostly black neighborhood to a solidly middle/upper-class neighborhood where their blackness stands out. Willie attends a private school, another way for her parents to distinguish how they have made strides from their pasts and pave a path to a successful future for Willie.

There is a lot of family story in this book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their hopes and dreams. The connections and relationships are meaningfully described. Willie is a strong protagonist, and her family ties - even the chapters told from another perspective - bolster that strength. While this book is very much about the 'what if' of reparations, it is also about the challenges of being an economically stable black family in the midst of white community. And also what happens when things go sideways.

I always enjoy reading a book with a plot I haven't read before. This is my first book focused on a world with reparations and I appreciated the good and the bad aspects of what a reparations rollout might look like. Like, how do you prove you're related to a slave? What does it take to get that proof? How do you curb inflation if you give a significant portion of the population new wealth?

Overall, I really liked this and would definitely recommend. Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite quotes:

"'...no one understands women who want to work more than they want a family. We get punished for it.'"

"She was only twenty-three, but it was possible to believe she knew everything while also constantly discovering she knew nothing at all."

This story pulled me in from the first page and never me let go. The story is unique, compelling and relevant. The writing is strong. I loved the characters and their relationships. As this is the author’s first book I eagerly look forward to her next one. And I would also love to see a sequel of the next generation!

Willie Revel dreams of a career in journalism; her dream is denied when her father’s health calls her home to manage a failing business. She becomes a single mother to Paloma who can not complete a family roots project in school, knowing little about who she comes from. Both Willie and Paloma love the family they know yet neither feel at home in their daily lives. Their story takes place against a unique period in the country’s history; the President, a white woman, has signed a bill, the Forgiveness Act, which will pay reparation money to Black Americans who prove direct relationship to a former slave. The idea is intriguing and Maura Cheeks demonstrates through her characters the varied reactions to this Act. Will it be enough? Do those seeking reparation have the resources, time and money to find the evidence required? How will other Americans react? The storyline intrigues me; unfortunately, the protagonist confuses me. I find her mother and daughter more appealing.

The concept of reparations for those whose ancestors were slaves is traditionally a hot political and social topic. I think that Ms. Childs approach in treating this as fiction is genius.

I don’t think a review should “retell” the story of the book. That information can be found in multiple places. A reviewer needs to impart their impressions be they good or bad. So…..

I truly felt the passion and emotions of Willis and her family. The Act of Forgiveness was great in concept, but the trials and tribulations necessary to “prove” such were eye opening. I can hardly imagine the struggles of those who are less affluent. I am still thinking of the characters today. The fact that this is fiction makes it completely readable. Many thanks to NetGalley and especially Random House for the invitation to read pre-publication. This is a must read!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 just because the book had the ability to make me think about it after I'd completed it.

Dealing with the somewhat difficult scenario of reparations for those who could prove they were descendants of slaves, the book focuses on Willie at points throughout her life. Because of this focus, the short chapters thrown in that focus on her daughter, Paloma, felt disjointed and incomplete. I wanted to be happy for her in the end, but it was more like reading a news story of someone I had no previous dealing with - a sort of detachment. If she'd been fleshed out a bit better, I think I'd have felt far more attachment and less like we were missing another chapter about Willie's "later life."

Despite the flaws, it was a decent read and brought up a lot of points that will stick with you after putting the book down.

The first female president has introduced a bill called the Forgiveness Act. The bill would let black families claim up to $175,000.00 if they can prove they are descended from slaves.

For Willie, a single mom, struggling to pay the bills after giving up her journalism career to help her family, this could mean a new life. A better life.

Willie jumps into their family history, and finds out it is a lot more complicated than it would seem.

This book showed us a lot about how history can change things. Erasing families and legacies. This was a good read beautifully told.

Netgalley/ RHPG Ballentine, February 13, 2024

As I read this wonderful book, ACTS OF FORGIVENESS by Maura Cheeks, I thought continually about the wonderful implications of reparations made to African Americans in America, and the words, “We are sorry for the pain we have caused you and your people!” happening in the real world. That would be a glorious thing! This book is everything! Beautifully written, I felt every sentence! When you read this make sure you read the Author’s note. This is a must read!

What a book. So many considerations, so many dynamics. How do you capture all of that in a story? Well Maura Cheeks has certainly done that. I appreciate that this book really explores some topics that should be talked about and interogated. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one.

3.5 Stars- This is one of those novels that stays with you when you are done reading and really makes you think about the state of our society. This story follows the story of a black family who live in a white neighborhood and the trials and tribulations that they encounter. However there is more to it because the president in this book proposed to give $175,000 (forgiveness) for all families who can prove that they are descended from slaves. This is called the Forgiveness Act. As you can imagine this idea does not sit well with everyone.

This book was a fast read and raised many interesting points. I feel like I really learned from this book and understood why something like the Forgiveness Act would be necessary. However I wish there had been more about the family and their relationships. This felt more like a political novel than a fictional story. I wanted more about their lives and to understand what happened. The novel was well written and I think this would be especially good for Book Clubs. There was much to discuss after reading.

Thank you to Random House for this ARC.

I received a free e-arc through Netgalley. This book is from the POV of a Black women who makes a choice between family and career when her parents need her help. It has some interesting thoughts about possible outcomes if the U.S. Government made reparation payments to Black people who could prove they had been slaves. I found it to be thought-provoking.

I was asked to review “Acts of Forgiveness” the debut novel of Maura Cheeks.

The novel opens with a great premise. The first female (!) U.S. president will allow up to $175,000 in repatriations for individuals who can prove that they are descendants of slaves. Willie is motivated to research her family history so she can prove she can qualify for this much needed financial benefit.

What I liked most about this book was how it quietly handled a very big political issue. But it wasn’t the political aspect that hooked me as much as the story of a woman needed to understand where she comes from before she is able to move forward.

While I enjoyed the book overall, I thought parts were hard to follow. I felt yanked out of the moment as I tried to determine where I was in the storyline and how these moments affected the bigger picture. Overall, this story did have plenty of heart, which is why I give it four stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read this evocative first novel.