Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this book!

Bob the Drag Queen's creativity knows no bounds, as proven by this book. And incredibly interesting concept of figures from the past returning and Harriet Tubman finds Darnell, a music producer, to help her produce an album and show. Not only does Bob tell her story from Harriet herself, but also brings her into our world to teach Darnell, and us as readers, what freedom really means.

I loved that Harriet was not the only person brought back, and the other characters were, to my knowledge, not famous abolitionists. So we not only heard Harriet's story of finding her freedom (and helping countless others), but we get other perspectives as well.

Also, the introduction to William Dorsey Swann as a historical figure was amazing, and I will be looking him up in the future.

I do wish that the Return was made a little more clear. This book has since been published, so I'm not sure what updates have been made. But in what I read, there wasn't a clear explanation of the Return or why it was happening, and anytime it was mentioned, I was distracted by my questions. In a similar way, there were times when the figures from the past seemed like they were never exposed to 21st century culture or technology, and other times when it seemed like they were watching the world go on from beyond while they were dead. I think some clarification on what they know and how would have also been helpful.

All in all, this was a fantastic book, and I can't wait to recommend it to all my friends. Hopefully I'll listen to the audiobook one day and get to hear all the songs too.

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by @bobthedragqueen
The dialogue is sharp, the heart is big, and the message is clear: we still have a long way to go, and we need each other to get there. Imagine Harriet Tubman returned to the modern world, teaming up with a hip-hop producer to turn her life story into an album.

This book remixes history not to soften it, but to amplify it. Through rhythm, resistance, and raw conversation, we’re reminded of the power of truth-telling and radical love. This is storytelling as activism. We’re living in a time when history is being erased and rewritten—this book says, not on our watch.

📚 Read it if you believe in human rights.
🎶 Read it if you believe in the power of music.
🖤 Read it if you believe in Harriet.

Five stars for introducing me to William Dorsey Swann. Original, educational, entertaining. Inspiring & digestible!

Only from the mind of Bob the Drag Queen could this book exist. Harriet Tubman (yes, THEE Harriet Tubman) comes back along with a bunch of other prominent figures from history. And what does she want to do?

Turn her experiences into music. Put on a show about her life.

This book is funny, creative, and just incredible. You can tell that Bob is having the time of his life writing this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback

I love that Bob decided to do something different. Writing fiction instead of a memoir.
This is a silly goofy time that does have substance, but it felt incomplete to me. I think I'm just being a picky bitch, but I really needed more about The Return itself even though that's not the point of the story. It nagged at me the entire book. There's good bones here, but it didn't feel fleshed out enough for me. I do have the audiobook on hold through the library because I'm interested in how the songs actually sound.

Harriet Tubman: Live In Concert is such an interesting and imaginative novel. I absolutely ate this up and am waitlisted for the audiobook so I can hear the songs.

Quick read, reflective and funny in all the right spots. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Gallery Books for the digital ARC.

A delicious, absurd, and inspiring read. Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert represents the best drag has to offer.

Like Drag Race, this book is a riot. Bob the Drag Queens sass is on full display as he builds out a world in which Harriet Tubman is not only brought back to life, but also wants to start a rap group (consisting of a cast of characters, including a stoner Quaker little person obsessed with muffins). Also like Drag Race, for all of the campy fun, there is history and heart at the core of this book. The author explores themes of race, freedom, and gender both in Harriet's day and also in present time. Of course, plenty has changed in the past hundred and fifty years, but some stigmas seem to transcend time. Without spoiling anything, our protagonist, Darnell (and the reader) learns about black and queer history and finds freedom in those who bravely paved the way for us so long ago.

Although Bob isn’t necessarily the next Tolstoy, his passion for the subject is on full display throughout the zippy novel, and that’s what makes this book, ahem, sing.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC!

Dang, is Bob the Drag Queen talented. What an entertaining and insightful debut of the history of Harriet Tubman. And what an interesting way to imagine/reimagine the history that is often forgotten or, unfortunately, purposefully not told.

This has been the best book I've read so far this year! I loved the concept of bringing such a powerful person from history to modern time and incorporating music into the story. It was a fast read, very engaging, and very informative.

A really wonderful tale of Harriet Tubman and other historical figures who time travel to the 21st Century. Harriet decides the best way to get her message on freedom across is to form a hip hop band. She enlists a gay, black man who's been broken for the past 15 years. Even though the time travel element is never explained, this book is lots of fun and touches on an important message to remember and honor those who came before us to make the world better. Author Bob the Drag Queen sure is multi-talented. I rounded up my 3.5 score to a 4 because it was a fun, easy, and insightful read.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

I absolutely adore Bob the Drag Queen so when I saw he had written a book I knew I had to read it and I was not disappointed! I loved this concept and his take on these historical figures.

What if Harriet Tubman returned to the present day and decided to drop a hip-hop album? Bob the Drag Queen's debut novel answers this audacious question with flair, humor, and heart.

In this imaginative tale, Tubman is resurrected and teams up with Darnell, a Grammy-winning producer, to share her story through music. The narrative blends historical facts with modern pop culture, offering readers a fresh perspective on Tubman's legacy.

Bob infuses the story with his signature wit, delivering lines like "Weezy F. Tubman" and exploring themes of freedom, identity, and resilience. The result is both entertaining and enlightening.

Whether you're a history buff, a music lover, or just in for a good laugh, this novel hits all the right notes. It's a tribute to a legendary figure, reimagined for today's audience.

In Rupaul's Drag Race winner Bob the Drag Queen's debut, historical figures walk among us and the recently returned Harriet Tubman believes the way to get her abolitionist message of liberation to the masses is to start a band, make an album, and go on tour with four returned people whom she helped emancipate during their first lifetime. Tubman enlists the aid of Darnell Williams, an erstwhile famous hip-hop producer who went into hiding after being outed on BET. Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, which is told through Williams's stunned and appropriately cautious viewpoint, reads like fan fiction in the best possible way. Touching on discussions of racism, homophobia, outing, and filled with historical information, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert is slippery with Bob the Drag Queen's signature sardonic wit and will feel like a good gossip session with your favorite Black History hero.

Having been a longtime DragRace fan (and counting Bob among the most charismatic, unique, nervy, and talented queens to win the crown), I was thrilled to see he'd written a novel! Witty and smart, this is a book for anyone, but especially those who like their fiction with a little bite. The voice is fantastic! A truly absorbing read.

Oh my, I loved this book. I thought the premise was brilliant. Harriet Tubman comes into the present with her closest allies who had helped her secure freedom for slaves and she wants to make an album telling her story as it really happened. She said most or much of what is written about her isn't true. She finds Darnell, a music writer and producer, tells him of her plan and the story begins. A story about slaves, suffering, loss, separation but also about friendship, trust, hope for better life and Harriet's need/drive/desire to help anyone she can. The writing is good, the characters real and relatable and important knowledge shared.

I had no idea what to expect with this but as a big fan of Bob the Drag Queen I had to check it out, and I’m glad I did. If you’re a fan, you can really hear the narration in his voice, which is great. The story is compelling is told with respect to the historical figures it portrays. Some moments are heartbreaking, others are humorous, and overall this was a great debut novel.

I really want to know more about how Bob the Drag Queen came up with the idea of this novel. The whole concept is bizarre. One of the best things about the book is the complete lack of interest or explanation for how or why historical figures are returning from the dead seemingly at random (questions this book has zero interest in: why is this happening? how is this happening? is there life after death? is it just people with a wikipedia page who get to come back or might one run into one's deceased granny on the street? You need to let go of the concept of "answers" and embrace the anarchy). The other best thing is the way like half the book seems to just be there to inspire you to look a lot of historical facts and figures up on Wikipedia—the parts of this that just introduce you to some and let them give long speeches are really engaging. The worst things about the book are the attempt at writing Harriet Tubman in vernacular (come on, man) and the fact that coming back from the dead to get one random guy to help write an album is just really weak story scaffolding.

I'm so sad to say that this didn't work for me as well as I had hoped it would. I don't think it was bad and I really respect and admire the concept of this book. It's a really amibitous idea and I think Bob does a servicable job. The idea of placing Harriet Tubman in the modern world is genius as a tool to teach history lessons. Unforutnately, the actual execution was lacking.

There was so much more that could have been done with the concept of having historical figures brought back to life, and I felt like it was a huge missed opportunity. I also felt like a lot of it - from Harriet as a character to Darnell's personal struggles - just felt a bit too heavy handed and too on the nose.

Reading this on audio ultimately may have been a mistake as well. I was excited to read this because I love Bob the Drag Queen, and I picked up the audio to hear him narrate it, but Bob's voice is so recognizable that it was hard to separate him from the character.

Again, I don't think this was bad! It was still interesting and kept me engaged, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

This was a really interesting concept! Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. Bob the Drag Queen is a fabulous entertainer, but I don’t think writing is his medium.

In Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, “the greatest heroes from history have magically and unexplainably returned.” I think it was a mistake and, frankly, lazy, to not explore how these figures have returned. Can you imagine if something like this actually happened and society just accepted it and moved on, without anyone actually questioning how or why this was happening? No way.

There is a lot of inconsistency in terms of the characters’ understanding and existence in modern society. Characters sometimes speak in the way that they would have in their own time, but sometimes they speak in modern vernacular and current slang. One is amazed by the concept of a restaurant, but another is DJing like he grew up with this technology at hand. It was clear as I read that there wasn’t much thought put into this beyond the initial concept and research of Tubman’s history.

I did enjoy the real historical facts that were included - many that aren’t included or are completely misrepresented in our history books. I think this story does have a lot of potential as something other than a book. I could see it being a hit if it were adapted for the stage. I’d love to see that!