Freshwater Road by Denise Nicholas

Title: Freshwater Road
Author: Denise Nicholas
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: It's 1964, Freedom Summer, and Celeste has decided to leave her comfortable home with her father, Shuck in Detroit, college in Ann Arbor, and her white boyfriend, J.D., to travel to Mississippi to work with One Man, One Vote to get African Americans registered to vote. She finds herself stationed in Pineyville, a small town with few of the modern conveniences to which Celeste is accustomed. The locals are slow to trust this newcomer, but Celeste persists in running the Freedom School and adult voter registration courses at the local church. As summer goes by Celeste gains trust and witnesses tragedy in the small town all while working for Civil Rights and trying to reconcile her world at home with the one she sees in Mississippi.

My Thoughts
This is the second book in a row I've read set in the United States in the 20th century, so unlike me! I found this one on the clearance shelf at Barnes and Noble, the cover really got me ( I always judge books by the cover...). I liked so many things about this book, it is a coming of age story, a civil rights story, a story of parent-child relationships, and a little bit of a love story thrown in. 
I really appreciate the struggle Celeste feels when she sees how bad it is for people of her race in Mississippi. She compares it to stepping back in time and realizes her own naivete from the moment she enters the state. She is brave and stays to help despite her fear and has to learn how things are done in the south. 

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!




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The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

Title: The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress
Author: Ariel Lawhon
Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: New York City, 1930, Judge Joe Crater has gone missing. No one seems to know the whole story about what has happened to him, but the three women who know him best; his wife, Stella Crater, his maid, Maria Simon, and his mistress, Sally Lou 'Ritzi' Ritz, each know a part of the story. 

My Thoughts

This book was recommended to me more than once by a colleague who really enjoyed it and has similar taste in books as me. He recommended it to me so many times that he finally just gave it to me for helping him with setting up some technology for his class. I am super glad that he did. 
This novel is based on the mysterious disappearance of Judge Joe Crater and the author fills it with intrigue. The story jumps around in time, each section dated like a diary entry but told in the third person perspective of each woman. Small tidbits of what happened to Crater come out as the reader learns about the complicated lives and complex relationships of Stella, Maria, and Ritzi. 
Because Joe Crater was never found and this is a work of fiction, the author uses creative license to come up with one possibility to explain his disappearance. It does not disappoint.  

Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!




To buy this book from Amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the author, visit the website linked above