Tomorrow's Bread by Anna Jean Mayhew

☆☆☆☆☆
Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Expected publication: March 26th 2019 by Kensington Books
About the Book:
In 1961 Charlotte, North Carolina, the predominantly black neighborhood of Brooklyn is a bustling city within a city. Self-contained and vibrant, it has its own restaurants, schools, theaters, churches, and night clubs. There are shotgun shacks and poverty, along with well-maintained houses like the one Loraylee Hawkins shares with her young son, Hawk, her Uncle Ray, and her grandmother, Bibi. Loraylee’s love for Archibald Griffin, Hawk’s white father and manager of the cafeteria where she works, must be kept secret in the segregated South. Loraylee has heard rumors that the city plans to bulldoze her neighborhood, claiming it’s dilapidated and dangerous. The government promises to provide new housing and relocate businesses. But locals like Pastor Ebenezer Polk, who’s facing the demolition of his church, know the value of Brooklyn does not lie in bricks and mortar. Generations have lived, loved, and died here, supporting and strengthening each other. Yet street by street, longtime residents are being forced out. And Loraylee, searching for a way to keep her family together, will form new alliances—and find an unexpected path that may yet lead her home.

All. The. Stars.

I love southern historical fiction, it is one of my favourite genres. In this story the texture of time and place is exceptional and Ms. Mayhew certainly knows her craft. How do you describe a book that’s so well written you can feel what it was like to live in the south during the 60's? My heart soared for the minor successes of the characters in this book and yet I’m saddened by the reality of the past. This book will grab you and within the first few chapters you'll be rooting for Loraylee and all who live in her Brooklyn neighbourhood.

This is a brilliant book with fascinating and compelling characters, and a plot that prevents you from putting this book down. It is so well written, it deals with the ugliness of racism in the 1960's in a way that will make you cringe. Lessons about life and humanity perfectly intertwined in this wonderful book. I also loved the music that was popular during the time and the songs mentioned. Anna Jean Mayhew is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Books and Anna Jean Mayhew for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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