Review by Booklist Review
A contemporary Black teen digs into the mysteries and secrets of family heritage in this complex debut. The summer before college, Sophronia "Noni" Reid wins a prestigious Boston internship in costume design. Instead, Dr. Castine, her mother (freshly divorced), takes the two of them south to her rural hometown of Magnolia, Virginia, where she is installed as president of Stonepost College. They move into Tangleroot, the plantation house that their ancestor, Cuffee Fortune, built on land left to him by his enslaver, Thomas Dearborn, after the Civil War. Dr. Castine's goal is to prove that Fortune also constructed the college. But what about Noni's goals? Her lack of interest in their new home is clear until she stumbles on the gravestone of Sophronia "Sophie" Dearborn, who died in 1859 at age 18, alongside her newborn. From there, a fascination with the Dearborns is born. The depth of the author's historical research is evident in her creation of both an enslaved person's narrative and the diary of a plantation owner's daughter. Rape culture is presented off the page as an element of racism past and present. Noni undergoes a thoughtful transformation from an immature, disengaged teen into a young woman who is accountable for her mistakes and owns her identity; Williams' work is worth keeping an eye on.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up--Noni Reid has a summer theatrical internship planned before starting at Boston University in the fall. Her mother, a Black literature scholar, demands otherwise: Dr. Radiance Castine insists Noni accompany her to rural Virginia where she'll assume the presidency of Stonepost College. High among Radiance's priorities is renaming the institution for Cuffee Fortune, its enslaved, original builder--and her ancestor. Abandoning Boston for (reclaiming) Tangleroot Plantation is bad enough for Noni, but the predominantly white town where Radiance grew up is hardly welcoming of either mother or daughter. Of course, many secrets--damaging and enlightening--are waiting to be revealed. Thompson enhances Williams's propulsive narrative, untangling the community's complex roots stifled by entrenched racism and horrific violence. Thompson also insightfully embodies Noni's trajectory, from angry teen to proudly understanding daughter and astutely aware young adult; she's equally adept at creating Magnolia's residents, both heinous and helpful. VERDICT Once begun, listeners will find Thompson unstoppable.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this mystery set in the rural South, a teen from Wellesley, Massachusetts, faces racist legacies and the enduring implications of enslavement. Sophronia "Noni" Reid is devastated when her mother makes her give up a dream internship in costume design to move to Magnolia, Virginia. Her mom, an esteemed researcher in the field of Black literature, is the new president at an elite liberal arts college in her small hometown, and frustrated Noni, who feels like she's living in her mom's shadow, struggles to adjust. Their new home, Tangleroot, was built by Noni's great-great-great-grandfather, who was enslaved there. While she's exploring the former plantation's cemetery, Noni discovers a grave belonging to a Sophronia Dearborn, who died in 1859 at the age of 18 and was buried with her baby boy, who died the same day. Hoping to learn more, Noni accepts a commission from one of the area's most influential--and racist--white families to sew a dress based on one her seamstress great-great-grandmother designed for one of their forebears. Along the way, the history of the dress and the search to learn more about the other Sophronia lead to the unearthing of long-buried secrets. Each well-chosen detail Williams includes of Noni's daily life, quest for autonomy, and search for answers is essential to this coming-of-age story. Racism, past and present, adds palpable tension as Noni brings her family's true history to light and reckons with her own sense of identity. A gripping and heartbreaking debut. (content warning, author's note)(Mystery. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
