Violet and Marigold are two sisters living in Jackson, Mississippi, in the summer of 1964, aka Freedom Summer. In the wider world, busloads of people have traveled south to Jackson and other cities to help register Black voters, resulting in conflict and violence. Three of those northerners were recently murdered in Jackson. In the sisters' personal lives, though, just as much turmoil is happening, including the recent loss of their mother, father, and older sister, Rose. Violet is raped by a white man, whom she kills. Knowing that a Black woman who kills a white man--for any reason--will likely not even survive to go to prison, Violet leaves town and goes on the run. She ends up in a small, rural town in Georgia, where she changes her name and tries to start a new life, with a vague idea of maybe continuing to Washington, DC, someday. Meanwhile, Marigold finds out she is pregnant, and the baby's father has no intention of being there for her or doing the right thing. Single, pregnant, and Black, Marigold also feels in danger in Jackson. She heads north, hoping to find more equality and peace there. As Violet and Marigold each struggle with their own issues and dangers, they don't realize that a man from Jackson is tracking both of them, a man who is becoming increasingly desperate as his boss puts pressure on his own family.
There is so much to this engrossing novel: historical detail of time and place, intimate emotional depth, and a thriller-like thread of suspense throughout. Violet and Marigold are flawed but likable characters I was rooting for. Each of them encounters one challenge after another, with danger recurring just as they think they are safe. The man tracking them is also a three-dimensional character here, with his motivations and devotion to his own family clearly shown. The novel moves from Mississippi to Georgia to Ohio, with intricate details of what it was like in each place in 1964 for Black women. With multiple narrators for the well-done audio, this gripping story kept me rapt.
400 pages, William Morrow
HarperAudio
This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:
Alphabet Soup Challenge - A
Diversity Reading Challenge & February Mini-Challenge (Black pov)
Literary Escapes Challenge - Mississippi
Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.
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This sounds like an excellent novel and it is going on my TBR list right away. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI think you'll like it, Helen.
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