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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post–Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives.
“An absorbing historical . . . enthralling.”—Library Journal
Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.
Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.
Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.
From the Publisher
Publisher : Ballantine Books; First Edition (June 29, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 1984819909
ISBN-13 : 978-1984819901
Item Weight : 10.4 ounces
Dimensions : 5.24 x 0.88 x 8 inches
Customers say
Customers find the characters rich and the storyline powerful and sweet. They also describe the book as outstanding historical fiction that adheres to documented facts. Readers describe the emotional tone as heartbreaking, soul wrenching, awe inspiring, and marvelous. They describe the descriptiveness as well written. However, some find the reading experience complicated and difficult to follow. Opinions differ on the pacing, with some finding it quickly paced and others saying the beginning was a bit slow.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
