Happy Release Day!!
on the release today of
The Book of Lost Friends!
Paperback and e-book, 400 pages
Published April 7th 2020 by Ballantine Books
A new novel inspired by historical events: a story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its connection to her own students' lives.
Lisa Wingate brings to life stories from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold off.
Louisiana, 1875 In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie, Lavinia's former slave. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following dangerous roads rife with ruthless vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and eight siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the seemingly 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, seems suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled oaks and run-down plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.
My thoughts about The Book of Lost Friends ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First line—"Prologue - A single ladybug lands featherweight on the teacher's finger, clings there, a living gemstone."
The Book of Lost Friends is a beautiful, yet heartbreaking story about a time in our history that is not talked about very much. As slaves were freed, they tirelessly searched for the family members who were torn from their lives. This book of lost friends was a way to get names out there to try to reconnect with them. Personally, this information was all new to me and not something I had learned about in my history classes.
Set in alternating timelines, over one hundred years apart, the reader follows the lives of Hannie, a former slave and Benedetta, a new teacher in a poor rural school. Lisa does an amazing job with the dual timelines and brings the story together at the end of the book in very creative and satisfying way. I love stories like this one, where two or more seemingly unrelated story-lines all come together in the end.
Just like with Before We Were Yours her previous book, The Book of Lost Friends, Lisa takes a piece of our little known history and brings it to our attention so that we don't forget. She is a wonderful writer and the story is beautifully written with words of wisdom all throughout. I love this line in particular—"Stories change people. History, real history, helps people understand each other, see each other from the inside out."
I am definitely a fan of anything Lisa writes. This was a fantastic read and I highly recommended it!
The Book of Lost Friends is a beautiful, yet heartbreaking story about a time in our history that is not talked about very much. As slaves were freed, they tirelessly searched for the family members who were torn from their lives. This book of lost friends was a way to get names out there to try to reconnect with them. Personally, this information was all new to me and not something I had learned about in my history classes.
Set in alternating timelines, over one hundred years apart, the reader follows the lives of Hannie, a former slave and Benedetta, a new teacher in a poor rural school. Lisa does an amazing job with the dual timelines and brings the story together at the end of the book in very creative and satisfying way. I love stories like this one, where two or more seemingly unrelated story-lines all come together in the end.
Just like with Before We Were Yours her previous book, The Book of Lost Friends, Lisa takes a piece of our little known history and brings it to our attention so that we don't forget. She is a wonderful writer and the story is beautifully written with words of wisdom all throughout. I love this line in particular—"Stories change people. History, real history, helps people understand each other, see each other from the inside out."
I am definitely a fan of anything Lisa writes. This was a fantastic read and I highly recommended it!
I received a copy of The Book of Lost Friends via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
About the author
Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the bestselling author of more than thirty books. Her blockbuster Before We Were Yours was on the NYT best seller list for over one year. Her work has won or been nominated for many awards, including the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, the Utah Library Award, the Carol Award, the Christy Award, and the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award.
Lisa believes stories can change the world. ~ Goodreads
Lisa believes stories can change the world. ~ Goodreads
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