After reading and loving Wilkerson’s first book, Black Cake, I have been eagerly awaiting her next novel. A blend of contemporary and historical fiction, Good Dirt tells the story of the Freeman’s, a wealthy Black family in New England, going back generations. Ebby, in present day, is navigating her life after an abrupt canceled wedding and is still dealing with the trauma of her brother’s murder two decades prior. While Ebby is figuring out what’s next for her, an important family heirloom is never far from her mind. “Old Mo” is a piece of pottery that has been with her family for generations and was originally taken with one of their enslaved ancestors during his escape. Old Mo, a family member in his own right, holds much Freeman family lore and history.

There is so much to this story and I thought it was so powerful and important! While there are many timelines and characters, I think Wilkerson beautifully flows everything together. It’s clear the author did a lot of research in writing this story. I would recommend to readers who enjoyed Black Cake and readers of multi-generational family stories and historical fiction

Absolutely fantastic- no less than one would expect from the fabulous Charmaine Wilkerson! A multi-layered, well written novel that grabs you from word one.

“Because to tell your story was to experience a kind of freedom. To be able to share news of your adventures, and name your relations and favorite places, was to be a man.”

Like Wilkerson’s debut novel, Black Cake, the quote above sums up one of the main themes of the story which is storytelling. Being fascinated by the first novel I wasn’t sure how it would hold up to her sophomore piece, but it still held its own and kept me enraptured in the plot. The novel is similar but different to Black Cake in its structuring but also tells a new multigenerational story of a family overcoming trauma, navigating their history, and discovering their identity. Like Wilkerson states in her author’s note, “History can be told only through a chorus of voices. Storytelling can be part of that chorus”.

The author has such a way with words and the way she weaves storylines of the past and present to create her stories. Though fictional characters, much of the history in this novel was tied to real-life events and pottery created back in the 1800s. It was fascinating, although sometimes harrowing, to read how the Freeman’s history of “Old Mo” came to be and how one object alone can hold so many stories. reading this novel made me think about stories I had been told about the items in families house-holds and learning about previous ancestors that have crafted or passed down items. Though it may seem to be just a jar, the story highlights the importance of items that may seem insignificant to others.

I enjoyed reading about each character through the multiple perspectives presented in the story. The novel is a testament to why it’s so important to learn about history and how tragedy can reshape us. I thoroughly enjoyed this read from beginning to end. The mixture of a family saga, romance, history, and mystery kept me engaged with the novel and I never wanted the novel to end. Highly recommend this novel to readers who enjoy stories about multigenerational narratives and history.

I enjoyed it very much. The style was very much the same as the authors previous book Black Cake with the going back and forth between the past and the present and again it was done very well. I did have some issues with the pacing in the begining but I did enjoy how it all came together. The characters were very real and very flawed and I enjoyed the character growth and the healing of the main character Ebony and her parents. I was a little upset that they never really got justice for Baz but I understand it because in reality you don't always get that kind of closure but I love how they honored his memory. It's definitely not a quick read and you really have to take time to digest the information and the characters and it took me a little longer than expected because of this and some issues with pacing but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was rich and interesting and touching read.

GOOD DIRT by Charmaine Wilkerson is a captivating genre crossing novel that I found impossible to put down. Part historical fiction, part family saga, and part romance, this book blends richly drawn characters and superb storytelling.

It’s a story that explores grief, mental health, tragedy, heartbreak, tradition, racism, slavery, ancestry, healing, and the importance of history in shaping the present and future. Told via multiple perspectives and across various timelines, GOOD DIRT is the story of the Freeman family and, by proxy, part of the African American experience.

Central to the story is Ebby Freeman who as a child witnessed her brother’s brutal murder as part of a home invasion. Now an adult, Ebby’s life is again turned upside down after a publicly humiliating failed romance. Much of the Freeman family history is tied to a pottery jug that’s been in their possession for generations. It’s such an important piece of family lore that it has a name and identity all it’s own. Old Mo holds not only the Freeman family past, but also the key to its future.

Ms. Wilkerson has woven an intricate and beautiful tapestry. I was captivated by her storytelling and ability to create a story that was both hopeful and reflective.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

As a young child, Ebby Freeman faced unimaginable loss when a home invasion shattered her family, taking both her brother and Old Mo—a 175 year old jar that has been in their family for six generations. Years later, reeling from the fallout of a failed engagement, she flees to France in search of solace, only to realize the past isn’t so easily left behind. Good Dirt seamlessly blends past and present in a sweeping tale of family and resilience.

Good Dirt is a thought-provoking read that inspires reflection. What truly stands out is the emphasis on oral history and storytelling passed down through generations, highlighting the enduring power of words. The inscription on the jar—Old Mo—carries profound significance, serving as the foundation and inspiration for the Freeman family legacy. While the multiple POVs and timelines occasionally disrupt the pacing of the plot, there is depth to this sweeping multigenerational story. Impactful and memorable, I recommend this book to all who enjoy a multigenerational epic and can easily see it becoming a book club favorite upon release.

Thank you Ballantine Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Five stars, couldn’t put it down. Is it too early to start my best of ‘25 list?!? Good Dirt is an epic multi-generational story spanning over 175 years of family history that jumps in time from Southern slavery to present day, with an ending that brings the story full circle. We learn about our main protagonist Ebby; -herself, her family, her ancestry from past to present, and of a now-broken stoneware jar carried North by her enslaved ancestor that holds the key to unlocking Ebby’s future. On page, these powerful, heartbreaking stories told through multi-POVs and multi-timelines exploring racism, trauma and family legacy are not whitewashed.. and although fictional, I can’t imagine a more thorough telling of one family’s Black history than what’s within these pages. Bravo, CW, Bravo!! Pub. 1/28/25

I absolutely loved this beautiful story. Part historical fiction, part mystery, part family drama, and part romance, it truly had everything I could possibly want. I thoroughly enjoyed Black Cake but Good Dirt may be even better! I loved the history of the jug, I loved Ebby’s story and personal growth, I loved the story of Ebby’s family and their fierce pride in their rich history. I wouldn’t change a thing about this perfect book and cannot recommend it enough. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

A fascinating story, and one which I found very hard to put down. Good Dirt is a story that offers many different ways in. I’m grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this prior to publication.
The story focuses primarily on the character of Ebby Freeman, who as a young girl of ten was witness to the shooting of her older brother. Blaming herself for forcing him to play hide and seek, Ebby has never shared that she heard the gunmen come in and ask her brother where the precious family heirloom - a jar that had been made by their enslaved ancestor - was. She has never shared that her brother tried to save the family heirloom and, as a result, was shot. Neither Ebby nor her parents has ever really talked about the events of that day, or the precious object that led to these events taking place.
When the story opens Ebby has run away to France, trying to get over the upset felt at being dumped on her wedding day by her white fiancé Henry. She is, understandably, shocked when Henry arrives to stay with his new girlfriend at the same place Ebby is looking after.
Though Ebby is at the forefront of much of the story, I was captivated by the details given about the family history and the significance of the jar. It felt fitting that much of the story centred on the role it played within the lives of the respective family members.

Ebony “Ebby” Freeman’s young life was irrevocably changed the day her older brother Baz was killed in a home invasion, his body surrounded by the broken shards of a stoneware jar that had been in the Freeman family since it was crafted by an enslaved ancestor. The crime was never solved, and Ebby continues to be plagued by trauma. After her wedding to a prominent young banker is called off when the groom does a no-call, no-show, Ebby flees to France to process and heal hurts both new and old.

Charmaine Wilkerson’s sophomore novel is a sweeping, ambitious multi-generational saga. It’s moving and beautifully written, spanning centuries and generations of Freemans. The history of the jar affectionally known as Old Mo begins with the history of enslaved persons in the American South and their role in the creation of pottery. The plot is non-linear and features many POVs, weaving the threads of Ebby’s story in the present with the threads of her family history as Old Mo’s creator endures enslavement in South Carolina, escapes, and works his way north. This emotional and compelling story unflinchingly tackles a number of heart-wrenching themes, ultimately ending on a beautiful and hopeful note.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Well written, emotional, meaningful and important, this novel embodies the words said by one character, “history can told only through a chorus of choices”. Ebby experienced a horrible tragedy when her beloved brother, Baz, was shot in their home when she was younger. The after effects of that tragedy impacted the family, as her mother and father also try to move forward. At the time of the shooting, a handmade piece of pottery, a jar, that travelled through many generations of the family, was broken, but the stories surrounding it were essential to the novel. The chapters move back and forth through the slave history of the family, and the current time where Ebby must face how much her life has been impacted by her history and that event. I highly recommend this excellent novel. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5⭐

Charmaine Wilkerson is unparalleled in her ability to weave stories together. What starts as a story of different timelines and characters comes together in this beautiful blend of family history, a horrible tragedy and bit of mystery trying to figure out how they connect beyond their love of an old jar created by an enslaved man. After starting off slightly slow, I could not put this one down. If you (like me) love the books Homegoing and Black Cake, I think you'll love this one too.

I really enjoyed this book. It was part romance, part mystery, part historical fiction. This is the story of Ebby and how she deals with life after a family tragedy. This story toggles between Ebby's present day difficulties and the life of her enslaved ancestors. This book really held my interest. I think it was better then the last book the author wrote. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ACR.

This! This is the five star read I’ve been waiting for! And right when I’m trying to organize my top reads of 2024.😆

Good Dirt doesn’t publish until next month, and is by the author of Black Cake, which is a novel that I really enjoyed. But wow, did I ever love this one. I didn’t want it to end.
It just had all the elements of a great story that I love- excellent writing, so many themes and jumps back and forth from the present to the past. It goes back to the time of slavery in the south, and follows multi-generations after. It was emotional and hopeful, and had a beautiful ending.

I already know I’m going to be that annoying person who jumps into the conversation in every post I’ll be seeing about this book. It’s going on my favourites list for sure.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse @penguinrandomca for the advanced copy. Good Dirt publishes on January 28, 2025.

Ed and Soh Freeman both come from families that are Black and successful. They were taught that these two things are not mutually exclusive, despite what the world may think. They passed this lesson down to their two children while raising them in a neighborhood where none of the other residents look like them. And the community they choose to reside in never lets them forget it.

When tragedy first struck the New England residents their only son, Baz, was murdered during a home invasion at the age of fifteen. The truth about his death remains an enigma for the public and whispers still haunt the family over the crime that was never solved. Their daughter, Ebby, was ten at the time and was the only witness. Now in her late twenties, Ebby, has grown from traumatized child to anxiety-ridden adult on the verge of yet another public tragedy.

Just like Charmaine’s debut novel Black Cake, we jump around quite a bit. There are multiple time periods and several characters helping move this story along. At times it can be tedious, but you are rewarded as the answers to questions are peppered in along the way as the author weaves the story together.

Overall I enjoyed my time with the Freeman family. This novel was part multi-generational family drama and part…murder mystery? I still talk about Black Cake after reading it more than two years ago and I think over time my adoration for Good Dirt will grow as well.

I loved every second of reading this book. It will be a perfect book club book for 2025. This was an excellent treatise on how grief stays in your body and affects every part of you, long after the event that causes the grief. But, it was also incredibly enjoyable to read. The history sections were engaging. The current day sections made me want to go to France! The characters are so well written that you feel like they are people you know in real life. I cannot wait for everyone to read this book!

Thank you so much to Random House for the gifted ARC!

WOW- this was absolutely an amazing story! After loving Black Cake so much, I knew this was going to be a winner, but it was so much better than I expected and even better than Black Cake in my opinion; no "sophomore slump" here at ALL!

Charmaine Wilkerson is quickly moving her way up the top of my favorite authors to write family drama. She excels at taking seemingly normal people and items and crafting the most memorable of stories. I was so attached to these characters, especially Ebby Freeman that I never wanted this story to end.

It truly had everything: murder mystery, family secrets, history, romance, family drama, etc, etc.

I would recommend this book to all audiences without a second thought!

Ebby is facing a crisis. Her fiance didn't show up at her wedding, creating a scandal and thrusting her into the limelight...again. She has been there since her brother was murdered in her house, and a priceless heirloom was destroyed.

Ebby leaves her affluent family's home and goes to France to figure things out. Over several months, Ebby will have to dig deep into the trauma of her own life and that of her ancestors to move on.

This was a beautiful story that spans several centuries and is very ambitious. The only thing that stopped the story from being five stars was how it slowed down in the middle. It's worth reading.

In her second novel after “Black Cake,” author Charmaine Wilkerson this time weaves a multigenerational family drama around an object (instead of a recipe). The heirloom is a 175 year old alkaline glazed 20 gallon jar, made by a secretly literate enslaved potter who hid an inscription on this piece of stoneware. The jar had travelled from the old South to pre-Civil War New England and was treasured by an African American family with roots going back to 17th century Barbados. And then it was tragically broken during a home invasion/burglary in 2000 that also resulted in the murder of a 15 year old boy.

The story has two timelines — one about the journey of the jar and the ancestors who owned it and a second story beginning 18 years after that unsolved shooting and subsequent destruction of the heirloom.

Ebony/Ebby Freeman, sister of the murdered teenager, is about to marry Henry Pepper in a high profile wedding, only for him to become a runaway groom. Because of the past, her affluent Black family had been condemned into a true-crime celebrity limbo, and the jilting has put another spotlight on Ebby. Still not being able to reconcile her sudden abandonment and continuing nightmares nearly a year later, Ebby flees to rural France to assist with a close friend’s bed and breakfast for three months. Trying to find some purpose abroad, Ebby decides to write about the family lore of “jar stories” that had delighted her late brother. But, surprise, suddenly Henry and his new girlfriend, Avery, appear for a two week reservation, and an inevitable confrontation between the two people who had intended to get married a year ago occurs.

Wilkerson does a brilliant job weaving the multigenerational stories together, and we get to know Ebby intimately as well as the people whose fates helped form her present day family. There is grief, love, racism, trauma, and mystery in this wonderful, complicated family tale. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO The only eye colors mentioned are Henry’s duplicitous gray eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): YES Pansies, an early spring flower, almost never co-exists with asters, a late summer flower.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Charmaine Wilkerson returns after her smashing success with her debut novel, Black Cake. Known for her evocative and multi-generational storytelling, this novel sits perfectly in her wheelhouse and will be a favorite for readers who loved Transcendent Kingdom and The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois. In this new novel, the author themes heritage, trauma, and resilience with a memorable take on the ripple effects of true crime.

The story centers on Ebby Freeman, who, as a child, witnessed an unspeakable act of violence against her brother that altered the course of her life and shattered her family's tranquility. Decades later, the echoes of that day still reverberate, not just in the scars left behind but in the enduring mystery surrounding the shattered pieces of a treasured family heirloom.

This stoneware jar brought North by an ancestor who endured unimaginable hardship encapsulates Ebby's lineage, harboring secrets that could help her move forward. Readers are taken through sweeping turns as this stoneware exchanges hands, where Wilkerson masterfully balances past and present.

What I loved about this was the unexpectedly thoughtful exploration of what it would be like to be the first Black family to move into an affluent New England neighborhood. We also have pure escapism to the cobbled streets of France, where Ebby seeks solace and distance from the relentless public scrutiny that comes with the echoes of the true crime case that has intrigued the world.

Wilkerson's signature lyrical prose captures the lingering impact of generational trauma and the unyielding strength of familial bonds. There is no denying that the research Wilkerson did on the rich history of African pottery overshadows any of the plot hiccups for me. Her background as a journalist exploring the trauma of being a headline news topic, in particular, is done with great care.

It certainly would have been easy for her to lean into the same vein of flash fiction writing that we came to appreciate in Black Cake. But readers can expect a more straightforward timeline, making it a more accessible story to follow that I think new readers will gravitate toward. This novel will be a massive hit with book clubs! I can’t wait to read it with you as our March book club selection.