Just finished Kingdom of No Tomorrow on Netgalley! It was a solid read. It started off a little slowly but I found I couldn’t put it down towards the end. I would say that Josaphat is definitely an author to watch. I look forward to her next book!

This historical fiction novel is a compelling and immersive read, offering a captivating portrayal of Nettie's relationship with Melvin Mosley, a defense captain in the Black Panthers. Despite the traumatic events of her childhood in Haiti, Nettie proves to be a resilient and inspiring character, driven by her ambition to become a doctor and help others. However, as she becomes increasingly involved with the Panthers, her life undergoes a significant transformation. I found myself thoroughly invested in the narrative, staying up late to finish the book. The characters are expertly crafted, possessing a remarkable depth and realism. While I had some prior knowledge of the era, I felt that the publisher's synopsis revealed too many details, spoiling some of the later plot developments. This novel is a must-read for anyone interested in the Civil Rights Movement, revolution, romance, and historical fiction. My sincere gratitude goes to Algonquin for providing an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in advance. This was an interesting novel about a young woman involved in the Black Panthers in Oakland and then Chicago. I found it gave a unique perspective from the young woman's point of view, and how there were some struggles with sexism within the politics of the Panthers. The ending turned sort of into a thriller and I couldn't put it down, even though I sort of predicted how she would escape!

I loved this story about Nettie an individual in the health sector trying to get help to those who need it most. Her coworker Clia introduces her to the Black Panther movement and she begins attending meetings. As she gets more involved she tries her best to do what's right, helping those in need as identified by the leaders of the movement. She is awestruck by Melvin and begins spending more and more time with him, until he leaves to start a ranch of the movement in Chicago. Ultimately she follows him there, but it's not what she expected.

A story of revolution and love. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this fictionalized Black Panther group, and bits and pieces about racial history in the US.

I really wanted to like this book (and I did like Robin Miles's narration) but I found the book overly melodramatic with characters that I just didn't care about. I haven't read a novel about the Black Panther Party so was interested in to learn more and dive in, but what we really got was a love triangle and a main character who gave up on her dreams for a man. Disappointing.

Kingdom of No Tomorrow was a fun and informative read. It's basically historical fiction, and covers the time period of the Black Panthers rise to power. Nettie is basically a refugee from Haiti, she escaped after her father was killed, and is doing well as a student in the Oakland, CA area, when she makes friends with some people in the Black Panther Party. She wants to be a doctor, so she gets involved in the health clinic, as well as a food program, but quickly gets entangled with some of the more violent aspects and falls for one of the local leaders, throwing off her plans. Nettie believes passionately in the cause, and is willing to give up her dreams for it, even moving to Chicago, away from her only family member. The book incorporates some real life Panthers along with the fictional main characters. It was good to understand better about this time period, which has a lot of effects on current day issues.

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

✨ Review ✨ Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat; Narrated by Robin Miles

Thanks to Algonquin Books and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

What I loved about this book:
--how perfectly it sets up the energy of the Black Panthers in Oakland in the 1960s -- especially for an outsider coming into the fold
--the way it handled the gender divide within the Black Panthers and radical movements of this era, of how women were often excluded from the inner circles and the leadership
--the threads of Black Panthers work on the ground that the author incorporated -- defending families, feeding kids, researching sickle cell, etc. - the author's research is fantastic

What I struggled with:
--I didn't really feel invested in the main character or her romantic conflicts
--the pacing of the book wasn't really working for me in staying engaged

🎧 the audio was engaging and emotional and took me to that time and place

Genre: historical fiction
Setting: Oakland, Chicago
Length: 11 hours 32 minutes
Pub Date: December 2024

4.25/5

This is a moving and propulsive work of historical fiction. I was immediately drawn into the action and intrigue along with Nettie, as she falls into an exciting relationship with Melvin Mosley, a defense captain in the Black Panthers. I felt for Nettie; she is a resilient character who, despite a tragic childhood in Haiti that ended with the murder of her father, still opens herself up to love and community. Her main goal is to become a doctor so that she can help others. But her life takes a drastic left turn when she gets more involved with the Panthers.

I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this one. The characters felt so real and three-dimensional. I have some prior knowledge of this era in history so I knew some of the major events that were coming down the pike. However, I think the publisher's synopsis gives away too many details that come much later in the story (as in, 60-70% of the way through). My recommendation is to skip the synopsis and dive in, giving yourself over to the beautiful storytelling.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in the Civil Rights Movement, revolution and romance, and fans of historical fiction set in the recent past. Thanks very much to Algonquin for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Kingdom of no tomorrow by Fabian’s Josaphat, is about a girl finding out who she is and who she loves while being a part of the Black Panther movement. I’m not gonna waste much time on this book. It was more like a romance, and although they did have stuff about the black Panthers, having read the non-fiction book about the Black Panthers. I don’t feel the book was totally written in the spirit of what Huey P Newton and Bobby seal head in mind. Most people think of violence when thinking of the Black Panthers, but that was not their aim at all, but as I said that’s for another book for this book, a girl was in love with a guy Melvin and her sheltered roommate The only reason I am giving this book 3 stars is for the great writing because the part after Fred was shot, and Melvin was telling Nettie about how the government tactics were working. I really felt how letdown and sad he must’ve been. I mean in real life and in the book the government really practices some unfair tactics against a group that only wanted to do good for their neighborhoods. I think had the book not been so much of the romance. It would’ve been much better because the author is a great writer and although she did take artistic license to the inth degree, I still recommend this book but don’t take every fact, she says about the black Panther as a truth.#NetGalley, #FabianneJosaaphat, #KingdomOfTomorrow,jn

Kingdom of No Tomorrow is the beautifully written story of love and revolution. Fabienne Josaphat brings us into the early days of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California.

Nettie is collecting data for sickle cell research when she meets the stoic Melvin. She's instantly drawn to his quiet strength. What follows is a story of a young woman finding herself, both in love and in support of her community.

I enjoyed watching Nettie grow throughout the story. I loved watching her and those around her search for ways to improve the lives of others. My knowledge of the Black Panther Party is very limited, and I did not realize the extent of their outreach programs. I am so impressed by how much these young people were able to accomplish in their early 20s!

Read this if you like:
- historical fiction
- strong female characters
- learning more about the Black experience in America

I'm looking forward to what Fabienne Josaphat writes next!

I think I just expecrted more out of this book and didn't end up loving it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Aspen Words Literary Prize put this one on my radar. Fabienne Joseaphat tells the story of Nettie, a student in Oakland, California in 1968. Nettie is a Haitian immigrant who dreams (along with her aunt) of going to medical school. Nettie volunteers at a sickle sell awareness project helping youth with sickle sell disease. Her work connects her with the Black Panthers’ health clinics where she meets Melvin, a charismatic Black Panthers’ leader.

Nettie and Melvin start a relationship and Nettie begins to lose herself and her plans as she moves to Chicago with Melvin to assist in the revolution.

I enjoyed this slice of history

Delighted to include this title in the December edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

Nettie has ambitions to go to medical school, but her plans are derailed when she falls in love with a Black Panther.

I love reading a fictionalized novel about a very real group in American history.
Kingdom of No Tomorrow takes place in the late 60's and at its core is about a Black woman and how her involvement with the Black Panther Party evolves over time just as her relationship with Melvin, a man that becomes a huge part of the Party begins to take over her life.

The first few chapters had a lot thrown my way and I was a bit overwhelmed with the content. But I couldn't help but stand by Nettie, a woman that wanted her equality and freedom in the world. She was looking for education and to help in the medical field. Coming from a family such as hers, she was looking for change and found it within the Black Panther Movement. Unfortunately, being a woman with that Party didn't give her the equality she was seeking and as the story progresses, we see how her involvement with an Oakland leader takes her to Chicago and everyone and everything seems to be working against her and what she was originally fighting for.

I liked the idea of the story and getting to see fictionalized pieces of a very real time in American history. I liked the fact that Josaphat took fictional characters and had them intersecting with real people that were part of the movement. Using the movement and adding a love story between Nettie and Melvin made this story more relatable. But I did NOT like seeing how Nettie was treated by not only Melvin, but other people that were supposed to be working as a unit. Of course that was probably reality. After some life changing events, we are brought to an ending that seemed rushed and a little messy, but overall still gave us a sense of a woman that was looking to find herself, her voice and her strength during a very difficult time.

Overall, this story seemed true to history in which we don't have a lot of books about. I liked that the story was divided into 3 distinct parts that helped keep things straight. In addition, there was character growth over the course of the story. The ending was a bit muddled, but I liked the fact that it came full circle and brought back a character that was in Nettie's life earlier on in the book.
Fabienne Josaphat's novel will appeal to the historical fiction readers that want more insight into the Black Panther Party.

By the end of chapter two, it had already felt cluttered with too much going on. All of that early on made the reading feel overwhelming for me, and I had to set it aside.

This is the 2023 winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction - the prize created by Barbara Kingsolver, so you know that you are getting great literature with a punch!

I first learned about the Black Panther Party in grad school. It was incredibly gratifying to read a novelization of the community organization.
Nettie Boileau, from Haiti joins the Black Panthers’ Free Health Clinics in Oakland in 1960's. After successfully organizing, the next move is to Chicago where she is caught in the crosshairs of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI campaigns against all civil rights leaders. Much like we learned over and over again in the freedom fighters of the 60's, the rights of women were generally shelved as an afterthought or a "second thought." Nettie is pushed and pulled in her love affair and her love of her community and what she believes is right.

This is a love song to the 60's, to all freedom fighters before today and now.
#algonquin #kingdomofnotomorrow #fabiennejosaphat

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Utilizing the rise and the development of the Black Panther Party as the foreground for the plotline, we meet Nettie (Antoinette) who flees her native Haiti for a chance at a peaceful life. During one of her medical encounters with her best friend Clia, she meets Melvin, a member of the Black Panther Party. From there, she reluctantly joins, facing challenging situations that test her.

I loved the way that Fabienne Josaphat develops her characters. How their values shift was very realistic. The plot was great until the end where I felt like it was a bit rushed. I also had an assumption of the author's view of the BPP but was a little disappointed that there were elements that portrayed Melvin especially, in a more negative light. After speaking so much of unification, I think adding in that element with all her relationships (Melvin's specifically) would have strengthened the novel.

Nonetheless, I think this was a timely read that incorporates a period in history that is not prevalent in fiction.

Thank you Netgalley, Fabienne Josaphat, and the publisher for a fantastic read!!!