Fiction.
African American Fiction.
Romance.
Historical Fiction.
HTML:
*2016 RITA Award finalist for Best Novella*
Sofronia Wallis knows that proper Black women donâ??t court trouble by upending the status quo, but itâ??s 1961 and the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. Sofieâ??s spent half her life being prim, proper, and reservedâ??as if that could bring her mother backâ??but the nonviolent protests happening across the South bring out her inner agitator. Ivan Friedman has devoted his life to boxing, loving the finesse of a well-delivered punch and the penance of receiving one. His family escaped from Europe before the horrors of WWII, and Ivan decides to help fight injustice in their new country, even if it goes against all his instincts as a fighter. When Ivan and Sofie meet, they realize that their pasts are intertwined andâ??with the sparks that fly between themâ??perhaps their futures will be too. With everything in their society lined up against them, will Sofie and Ivan be able to beat the odds? Or will their chance at love be destroyed by the tumultuous tim… (más)
I remember the riots and the civil unrest of the 1960s, when I was a child, and it scared me how mean people could be to each other. So, parts of this story were hard for me to read, because of that and because strife and unrest in general are hard on me. But it is SO GOOD. So sweet, so of-the-time, and thus so IMPORTANT to understand, both that we've made some progress, and that we have made far too little.
I really enjoyed the first half of this but for some reason the second half felt quite disjointed to me and I struggled to stay focused. Nevertheless, the background of the civil rights movement was done really well and I liked the romance. ( )
Fiction.
African American Fiction.
Romance.
Historical Fiction.
HTML:
*2016 RITA Award finalist for Best Novella*
Sofronia Wallis knows that proper Black women donâ??t court trouble by upending the status quo, but itâ??s 1961 and the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. Sofieâ??s spent half her life being prim, proper, and reservedâ??as if that could bring her mother backâ??but the nonviolent protests happening across the South bring out her inner agitator. Ivan Friedman has devoted his life to boxing, loving the finesse of a well-delivered punch and the penance of receiving one. His family escaped from Europe before the horrors of WWII, and Ivan decides to help fight injustice in their new country, even if it goes against all his instincts as a fighter. When Ivan and Sofie meet, they realize that their pasts are intertwined andâ??with the sparks that fly between themâ??perhaps their futures will be too. With everything in their society lined up against them, will Sofie and Ivan be able to beat the odds? Or will their chance at love be destroyed by the tumultuous tim
How it ends is beautiful.
Highly recommended. ( )