Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The Solomon family has lived in Diggs, North Carolina, for generations. The four siblings have gone their separate ways in recent years and barely talk to each other. When King, their father, unexpectedly passes away, the group is brought back together to lay him to rest and deal with a second unexpected challenge – someone’s trying to take their land.
Terah Shelton Harris gives a master class in the pitfalls of heir property in her sophomore novel Long After We Are Gone. Utilizing multiple viewpoints, Harris explores the generational trauma the siblings face along with their own personal choices that bring them closer to losing the family land. Inspired by real events, this book is about the power of honest communication, being proud of who you are, and greed so big it could destroy everything.
I give Long After We Are Gone 5 out of 5 stars. I appreciate the work Harris puts in to sharing the story from multiple points of view. Harris elegantly conveys the pain and frustration each sibling processed throughout the story, allowing background and private conversations to be shared in a natural flow. I connected deeply with these characters and their private struggles – their redemption stories are beautifully written. This book had me experiencing every emotion and plenty of movements of laughter, too!
If you liked Harris’ debut novel One Summer in Savannah, you’ll love this one, too. I would recommend this book to readers wanting to learn more about the plight of heir property families and how this system works – Harris includes descriptions of the legal process that really helped me understand what these cases are like. Given the discussion of sexual relations (consensual and non-consensual), violence, homophobia, and criminal behavior, I would recommend this novel to more mature audiences over 13. Even the author includes a trigger warning in the Author’s Note about these subjects.
A few months back, I met Terah Shelton Harris at an author event and book signing for One Summer in Savannah at the Atlanta History Center. I was struck by how sensitively she handled discussing traumatizing subjects like rape in both her writing and the speaking event. Towards the end of that event, she mentioned this book would be upcoming and discussed a bit of the subject matter – I was immediately hooked! When I saw it was available for advanced review through Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to participate. I am hooked on Harri’s writing style and subject choices and can’t wait to see what her third book will be!
Long After We Are Gone will release on May 14th. You can preorder your copy now!
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- Current audio book: Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World’s Greatest Chocolate Makers, Deborah Cadbury
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