I liked this book, it provides a new way to consider the civil rights era and a new perspective from those wanted equal rights but not necessarily integration. Alice, the main character, finds new safe haven in New Jessup by being in a black community without daily white interaction. But the threat of white violence is still there in a slow, simmering tenseness.
The first part of the book is pretty slow, I found the writing to be sometimes confusing. I think it was the transitions to provide background, sometimes seem to come out of nowhere and didn't fit. Could be because it was a little slower at times, I wasn't paying good enough attention.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"Her words were full of the kind of truth only children can tell - bursting with the belief and imagination of an uncorrupted heart."
"My daughter had taught me what it meant to be enchanted by love, and I prayed thanks every day she had chosen to teach me as her mama."
"Don't diminish yourself baby...that's the world's work, not yours."
"But at the end of the day, we can't control Chase or the Chases and Fitzhughs of the world. What we can do is live for, love, and protect our community."