The Aspen Prize has delivered up another stunner, a book I had not heard of prior to its longlisting. Its protagonist is Nettie, a 20 year old public health student of Haitian descent. When the novel opens, it's 1968, and she and her best friend Clia are collecting field data for a study on sickle cell being run by the Black Panthers. As the novel unfolds, Nettie and the reader become more and more immersed in the Black Panther world. I found it totally absorbing and was impressed by the balanced picture of the organisation that Josaphat created. The impact of the institutional racism faced by Black people was clearly depicted and underpinned the many social programs that the Black Panthers funded , such as health clinics and free breakfasts for school children. But the organisation was committed to radical change. Members were undeniably the victims of police violence and brutality (so much to say about the police actions from ignoring harassment of and assaults on Blacks, to destroying essential medical supplies, to cold blooded murder, and the way so little has changed in more than 50 years) but were prepared to use violence themselves. Nettie had seen the cost of violent struggle in Haiti (her father was murdered for his opposition to Duvalier's regime) and struggled with this aspect of the Panther organisation. The novel also highlights the sexist and misogynistic way women in the organisation were treated both by individual Black Panthers and the organisation itself. And the secrecy and sometimes long hours required by the Black Panthers plus their insistence on total devotion to the cause, made personal relationships very difficult.

This book is more than just a nuanced portrayal of the Black Panthers. It's also very much a tale of Nettie's coming of age. A lot of this is political as she learns more about the Panthers and is often spellbound by some of their amazing orators. But she also harbours doubts and reservations and has to find a way to balance her conflicting thoughts and feelings, to discover how much she is prepared to sacrifice and what role she is willing to play. But this novel is also Nettie's personal coming of age.

She has to choose who she wants a sexual and romantic relationship with - Clia or Melvin, a charismatic party leader. Additionally she needs to work out who she is as a person and what sort of life she wants to live; not always easy given the strong preferences of her loving but overbearing aunt who raised her following her father's death.

This might not be a perfect novel but I was captivated by it. Nettie was my sort of protagonist - intelligent and strong, well-intentioned, yet realistically flawed - and I loved getting to know her and sharing her journey. I also loved Josaphat's writing - surprise, surprise she's also a poet - and will be hunting down her debut novel. I found the characters to be well-drawn; they certainly came alive for me. The plot was richly layered, with plenty of action but also many quieter but equally compelling moments. The settings, especially the Panther enclave in Oakland were richly drawn. Josaphat has clearly done plenty of research and I certainly learned a lot. Yet this never got in the way of the story but felt an intrinsic part of it. Highly recommend giving this book a go.

Many thanks to @NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC. Kingdom of No Tomorrow is out now.

I read this book as I'm attempting to read the long list for the Aspen Words Award. I love learning about new things and this book shed a light on the Black Panther movement that I was unaware of. I love fictionalized accounts of real historical events and this book provided the insight I seek.

This audiobook is narrated by Robin Miles. Ms. Miles is one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Her voice is rich, which works to both hold my interest and increase my immersion into the narrative. Her voice also conveys a lot of emotion, which is much needed for this text.

This starts in 1968 in Oakland, California. This focuses on Nettie, a Haitian student, who gets involved with the Black Panther along with her best friend, Clia. Nettie dreams of a new world and takes action to create in actuality what she's only dared to dream in her heart.
Nettie becomes involved with Defense Captain Melvin. Soon pregnant and more into Melvin than he is into her, she follows him to Chicago where disaster finds them and shakes their relationship.

This isn't just about Nettie's relationship with Melvin. It's also about love. What we sacrifice for love, how love uses us, and more. This isn't what I thought it would be. It's not just about the Black Panther Party, but I like the focus on the relationships within the party. I think we grow as people not just from the choices we make but also from the people we love, romantically and otherwise.

The parts that do focus on the Black Panther party really focus on the strengths and the flaws. I was born in 1974, so I'm familiar with how women within the party were treated and sidelined. This is an important aspect not exlpored often enough in novel form. This really explores misogynoir and how it comes both from outside the community and within it.

Thank you to Fabienne Josaphat, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed listening to "Kingdom of no tomorrow". I found the story entertaining and compelling!

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 Black Panther movement and its struggle against injustice in the late 1960s serve as the backdrop for Fabienne Josaphat's novel Kingdom of No Tomorrow. We explore this world through Nettie Boileau, a young woman navigating love, activism, service and self-discovery, Josaphat paints a vivid and nuanced portrait of the movement's triumphs and complexities. We get a glimpse into her world as a worker at a free health clinic run by the Panthers and her love for Melvin one of the Panther's captains. As Nettie learns more about the Panther's activism she is confronted by and witnesses the rising tensions that encompass social justice and gender equality, exposing the true demands of the struggle that define this period in American history.

Sigh… this book had all the tropes I personally despise the most and I was ready to DNF but I surprisingly was able to push through.

There should’ve been a trigger warning for pregnancy loss!
The violence wasn’t explicitly and extensively described in the book however you might want to take that into consideration.

When I read the description I was expecting more in depth information about the dynamics of the Black Panther Party. I didn’t expect the romance to take over the plot this much.

I think this could’ve been so much more but it was alright.

Tropes:
- Surprise pregnancy
- Cheating
- “Love triangle”
- Found family

My rating system:
Narration: 4
Story: 2
Entertainment: 2
Emotions: 3
Overall: 2.75
Spice level: 🍦

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 and Robin Miles’ narration was excellent. The realistic voices she had for the characters was compelling and kept me listening. The audiobook went fast in part because of the narration. I’ve read that Miles has narrated 300 audiobooks — so I’m not the only one who thinks so!

Good lord this is a gorgeous book. I was expecting something more straightforwardly historical, with a young woman’s fictional story woven in among familiar moments and people. This was that, in its way, but it was also lyrical and moody and introspective and elegiac. Robin Miles never disappoints, her calm, flexible voice grounds the story beautifully.