This book does not disappoint!
A wonderful complex narrative centered around a family heirloom, a large pottery vase made by an enslaved ancestor.
Highly recommend.

Charmaine Wilkerson is becoming and automatic preorder for me. What a beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopefilled story. I think it showed how each member of a family can process trauma in completely different ways. I also loved the ending so incredibly much, what a moving display of family history and our main character truly coming into her full self.

I received a copy of the book "Good Dirt" by Charmaine Wilkerson from NetGalley. Good Dirt is seen through the eyes of many characters. I takes place over 200 years. The book surrounds the character over a 20 gallon jug that was made by hand in the 1800s. It has been in the family since then. the man who made the jug wrote a five word message in the jug that is kept secret for all those years. When the family who now has the jug has a horrible tragedy over the jug when a fifteen year old son "Baz" is murdered when crooks come into their home to steal the jug, the book goes over 200 years introducing characters that involve the jug that broke when the crooks tried to steal it. This jug is priceless to the family because it was made by a slave who was one of the families relatives. The book goes back and forth over the centuries showing the characters. it especially focuses on Ebby who was the little sister of Baz who was murdered in the home invasion. A good read. it spends a lot of time going back and forth across over 200 years. but the book comes together well. and yes we do find out what those five words were that was written way back in the 1800s.

Charmaine Wilkerson, the author of Black Cake, has again written a book that beautifully tells a story that reaches from the present to the past and then back again in so many meaningful and intertwining ways. The Freeman Family suffers a terrible family tragedy in their home in Connecticut and this book shows how they deal with their grief and their growth afterwards. Central to the story is a family heirloom with ties to several generations and which speaks of the determination and love of the family that has come before them and the family they continue to be. Wilkerson draws the reader in to the story but also brings you to inside the thoughts and feelings of the characters. This isn’t a book that reaches out and grabs you- it’s a book that gently but surely brings you into the lives of the characters and into the many relationships between the characters. The book is beautifully written and seamlessly moves between time periods, between characters and between locations. The only reason I did not give this a 5 star rating- I had a preference for the chapters that were written as stories about the previous generations more than I liked the chapters where current day characters were telling the stories for the prior generations. Minor detail, but sometimes interjecting the current day commentary into the lyrical tales of the past took me out of the time period and mindset. Overall, a wonderful book!
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Fabulous characters and writing! I knew I'd like this because I loved Black Cake, and I'm so glad that I got to read it. Amazing story that kept me engaged!

Thank you NetGalley and Charmaine Wilkerson!

I enjoyed the author’s first book, but this one, not so much. Was the loss of a young family member tragic? Of course. But reading about each family member’s internal angst on seemingly every other page over the course of twenty plus years? Too much for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this advance reader’s copy.

Powerful & deeply affecting.
Enveloping storytelling.
Richly drawn characters.
One of those rare books that you cannot wait to continue reading yet never want to end.
I was a big fan of Black Cake, but this story & its characters resonated even more and will stay with me.

With thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for this e-ARC.

This was my most anticipated read for 2025 so far based on my love for Charmaine Wilkerson's book "Black Cake" and it did not disappoint. She is an incredible writer and her storytelling is beautiful. Ebby's story is full of loss, grief, family, resilience, and love. We experience her come to terms with the very public murder of her brother and the dissolution of her engagement. As she finds her way back to herself, we get great insight into her family and Ebby herself as she navigates the world. I loved this book. I devoured every page and cannot wait to read everything Wilkerson writes in the future. Thanks to Charmaine Wilkerson, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a chore to start. A crime that the h survived creates a mini celebrity of a her, she fights against that while in a relationship with a man that has a white family. There is an angle that deals with history heritage and ancestry. Seeing trauma through generations over time was compelling. This also says a lot about survival, healing, racism and mental health yet it’s not very exciting, it’s too repetitive and weighed down by too many things. One storyline could’ve sufficed in my opinion.

*Thank you C. Wilkerson and Ballantine Books for the, Good Dirt ARC.

Sigh! If you loved Black Cake this is must read story of resilience and a jar… And it works!

Good Dirt is all about the ups and downs of a family, who moves into a fancy white neighborhood and find themselves in the spotlight after a terrifying event— hard to even think of about! And just when things seem to calm down everything takes another turn!

Thanks for the early read and that cover! Yes!

This has been one of my favorite reads this year.Ms Wilkerson does a great job of weaving history and a past story through this delightful book.Love lost,strength gained,historical artifacts and so much more fill this book.
Read it from start to finish in one day!
Thankyou Netgalley for this ARC

5 stars!

This was a beautifully written tail of the impact of childhood trauma, the value of family heritage, and the stories left behind by our ancestors artifacts. One of the main characters is an earthenware jar made by an enslaved man. Sounds crazy, but it will all make sense when you read this artfully crafted novel.

4.5 stars. I loved Black Cake so I was very excited to get to review Good Dirt. This is a story of love and loss, how we handle trauma, and family dynamics. The Freeman family is a well to do black family still dealing with the loss of a child as well as a treasured artifact made by an enslaved potter and decorated by a family member with a phrase that encourages many through the years. At times sad yet uplifting.

A beautiful story that spans generations and introduces us to the Freeman’s. It is both sad and hopeful, filled with both past and present trauma , while still moving and inspiring. I like dual timelines and getting to know the back stories of the family. This story does a good job of exploring grief, trauma, mental health, racism, bravery and other things in a way that I think everyone could benefit from.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this amazing novel. Wilkerson takes you through generations as she weaves history, family drama and love into one incredible story. You will be captured by the characters in the first chapter. Her writing give color and depth to every party of the story. This book leaves you wanting to read everything Wilkerson writes!

3.5 rounded up. I was super excited for Charmaine Wilkerson’s second novel because I adored Black Cake. Good Dirt takes a similar structure - with dual timelines and an exploration of multiple generations of a family - but some parts of the story fell a bit flat for me.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

So. Black Cake is one of my favorite books of the last DECADE. My bar was very high.

The prose in this book is striking, and the research is beyond methodical. It reminds me of Homegoing… possibly my #1 favorite book of all time. I couldn’t help but read Good Dirt with a comparative lens at every turn.

I deeply cared about these characters, and my heart ached for their history. But the current day storyline really faltered. There were a lot of loose ends, and a lack of accountability to the people who deserved to pay. The dialogue in a couple chapters felt unnecessarily rushed, especially near the end where wordy explanations took over. A lot of telling instead of showing — which was a stark departure from most of the book.

Again, I may be being picky. I expected perfection and didn’t get it. It was still a really good read and I hope others will read and learn.


Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an early copy! I’m so happy to live in the same timeline as Charmaine Wilkerson.

Thank you Random House Publishing- Ballantine and Net Galley for a digital ARC of Good Dirt!

Good Dirt is a beautifully crafted story about tragedy, trauma, grief, family, healing and forgiveness. It focuses primarily on Ebby, a child who was at home with her older brother when there is an attempted burglary of a family heirloom. Her brother is killed during the bungled burglary, and Ebby is photographed in this grief-ridden moment. To further complicate things, Ebby's family is part of the New England black elite, and her brother, Baz's, unsolved murder shines an unwanted spotlight on the family that follows them for years.

This story opens 19 years after Baz's death, and Ebby is essentially left at the alter on her wedding day. It goes on to detail not only Ebby's struggles with her brother's death, but also her parents and the impact that it has had on them over time.

Ebby is the main character per se. However, there is another main character: the family heirloom, a jar made by an enslaved potter in South Carolina. As such, this story traces the journey of the jar. By tracing the jar's "life", this story also chronicles Ebby's family history and their climb to black elitism.

The writing, the characters, the history, was so riveting. I had a hard time putting this book down to work, eat, sleep, etc. There were particularly moving chapters near the end. If someone were to ask me "what is one book that you wish you could read for the first time again?" I would say GOOD DIRT. I am pre-ordering this book, and I will be gifting this book to friends and family next year. In the meantime, I'm doubling back to read Black Cake.

This is a heartbreaking story from the start, of family, of love and loss, but it is also a story of healing. A story of multiple generations of family, and what they’ve endured, individually and collectively. A story that begins in the era of slave trading, and follows the family over time, into a more present time.

This story revolves largely around Ebby Freeman, who was a ten year old girl when her life changed. Her older brother was murdered in their home by two men, who were not aware of her presence. In the days that followed, the story of their family’s loss was on the news everywhere.

Years later, Ebby’s fiance abandons her at the altar, and soon after she leaves to find a place where no one knows her, and so she heads to France, to temporarily be the caretaker for the cottage, knowing that no one there will know her, look at her the way that others do, with pity.

A story that weaves together the stories shared over time and generations of family, trauma, loss, legacies, and love.


Pub Date: 28 Jan 2025


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Ballantine Books

If you liked Black Cake, you’ll like this one as well.
Good Dirt goes back and forth in time focusing on Ebby in present time and how witnessing her brother’s murder as a young girl has had an effect on her. It also tells the story of Ebby’s family from slavery to present day. I was invested in all the story lines.