Suzette Harrison

This is a dual time line historical fiction/modern day novel about Ona Judge and her life as a slave. Who is Ona Judge, you ask? She was a real person who was a slave in the George Washington household in Mt Vernon and traveled with the family to Washington DC after Washington was elected president. Since I'd never heard of her before or been taught about her in school, I goggled her and found many books written about this woman and her escape from slavery.

New Hampshire, 1796. “My name is Ona Judge, and I escaped from the household of the President of the United States. I was the favored maid of George and Martha Washington, but they deemed me a slave and thought me property, and I hear ten dollars is offered as reward for my capture. Now I must write the truth that I have lived, and tell my story…”

Ona Judge - we follow her story from a very young age. From her learning to sew at her mother's knee. being a companion to the Washington grandchildren and finally the personal maid to Martha Washington. In that role, she had to move to Washington after the presidential election. She had always questioned why her people were treated so poorly and once she got to Washington, she began to meet free black people and abolitionists who wanted to help her. Even though she knew if she got captured after she escaped, her punishment would probably be death, it was worth it to take the chance to find freedom.

Present - Tessa is part of a large family and is working to make her interior design business a success. When she is in the old house of a family friend, she finds an old tattered diary that belong to Ona. It had long been rumored that a member of the family was a slave to the Washingtons and finding the diary proved that it was true. As Tessa read more of the diary, it helped her to make some tough decisions in her life and work to set herself free.

Sometimes in dual story line novels, I prefer one time line over the other. That wasn't the case with this book - both time lines were well written and both women had to learn to be strong and take control of their lives.
The author did a lot of research in Ona's life and the time period that she lived in and the results of her research shows on every page.

This is a book that you don't want to miss about two strong and resilent women who both have to work to find their freedom and happiness. It's an amazing story about love, loss and redemption based on a true story from the founding of America… (mehr)

Oklahoma - 1935. The farm lands have turned to dust and the people who live in Oklahoma are plagued with dust storms. The land no longer produces crops and the farmers and their families are hungry. They hear that there are jobs in California and many residents pack up their households and head toward the promised jobs.

The Wilson family can no longer endure their life and head to California. There are the parents, one son and two daughters. When a huge storm blows in, the two girls - 15 year old Faith and her five year old sister Hope get separated from their family. They hide in the cellar of an abandoned house and when they finally get out (with the help of two boys), they have no idea where their parents are. So they decide to head to go to LA and find their parents. They ride in the wagon of a white family and are treated poorly because they are black. When they get to LA, they are constantly looked down on because of their race. Will they ever find their family again?

Zoe's story is present day. She is a museum and art curator and is back in California leaving behind her ex-husband in Boston, to work on an exhibit about black people who emigrated from Oklahoma during the dust bowl years. As she is reviewing pictures, she finds a picture of a girl who looks exactly like her. There have always been some bare branches on Zoe's family tree because her mother was adopted and knew nothing about her birth family. Zoe decides to find out more about the girl in this picture hoping to find a long lost relatives. The story of Faith and Hope slowly unravels through Zoe's hard work...but will it reveal the answers to the questions that Zoe has about her family?

Both of the stories in this dual time line novel are exciting and emotional. Prejudice towards black people plays a large role in both narratives. The author has done considerable research into the exodus from Oklahoma to California during these years. The characters are well written and the setting is well described - especially during the dust bowl part of the story. This book is an emotional look at two women who have a connection with each other that has been forgotten over the years. It's the story of family and love, faith and hope but most of all it's the story of two strong women who continue to try their best to help their families.

I got pulled into this story on page one and my concern for the characters lasted until the end. I will advise you to have some tissue close at hand. I cried several times during the story but they were tears of happiness. for these families.

Thanks for Bookouture for a coy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.… (mehr)

When I began this book, I was’t sure this read was for me, but am glad I persevered and finished this, it turned into a page turner!
This story begins in 1930’s with a family desperate from the depression and the dust bowl, and we are with two members of the Wilson family as they try to survive the black cloud.
Then we are back to the present time with Zoe, rattled by the death of her son, and the loss of a marriage.
How do these two stories mesh together? Well, you are in for a treat, hard times, and thrown in a bit of romance, along with family. There are startling happenings in this book, most I never saw coming.
I loved the update at the end, something I wish all books had!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Bookoutour, and was not required to give a positive review.… (mehr)

This book has been equated with [b:The Help|4667024|The Help|Kathryn Stockett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572940430l/4667024._SY75_.jpg|4717423] and, initially, that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up because The Help is often viewed as a white savior book.

But I certainly see the similarities. There is a story of a Black teenage girl who ends up getting published. She was on the same bus as Rosa Parks when Ms. Parks refused her seat to a white man. Civil Rights is a theme in both books but that's where I feel the similarities end. And this book is far far better and more fair.

There are two story lines in this book and it is rare that I equally love both stories but, with this book, I certainly did. There was the story of Mattie Banks who was on the bus with Ms. Parks in the 50s and there was the story of Ashlee Turner, in the present day, who is still dealing with racial injustices both personally and nationally. The reader can also see how the issues Mattie faced and how they are still faced by Ashlee. There are things that are better and things that certainly need more work, both as a Black person and as a Black woman.

This was a very good book and I find myself still thinking about the characters. But don't be fooled. There are similarities with [b:The Help|4667024|The Help|Kathryn Stockett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572940430l/4667024._SY75_.jpg|4717423] but [b:The Girl at the Back of the Bus: An absolutely heart-wrenching historical novel|55938203|The Girl at the Back of the Bus An absolutely heart-wrenching historical novel|Suzette D. Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605755742l/55938203._SY75_.jpg|87150377] is significantly better.… (mehr)