The American Daughters
A Novel
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3.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“An enthralling tale of a secret resistance movement run by Black women in pre-Civil War New Orleans.”—Time
“Stirring . . . In telling this important, neglected history with imagination-fueled research, The American Daughters offers an inspiring story of people who show a way forward with their perseverance, bravery and love.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
AN ELECTRIC LIT AND KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Ady, a curious, sharp-witted girl, and her fierce mother, Sanite, are inseparable. Enslaved to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the pair spend their days reminiscing about their family’s rebellious and storied history and dreaming of a loving future. When mother and daughter are separated, Ady is left hopeless and directionless until she stumbles into the Mockingbird Inn and meets Lenore, a free Black woman with whom she becomes fast friends. Lenore invites Ady to join a clandestine society of spies called the Daughters. With the courage instilled in her by Sanite—and with help from these strong women—Ady learns how to put herself first. So begins her journey toward liberation and imagining a new future.
The American Daughters is a novel of hope and triumph that reminds us what is possible when a community bands together to fight for their freedom.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A mother’s love gives her daughter the strength to fight for liberation in this beautiful and stirring historical novel. Ady is an intelligent young girl growing up with her mother, Sanite, in 1862 New Orleans, where they’re both enslaved. Ady grows up learning about the free community of escaped slaves that her mother was born into, filling her with the hope and imagination she’ll need when she and Sanite are tragically torn apart. We were utterly compelled by the coming-of-age tale that takes up the first half of this book, full of heart-wrenching lessons that Ady takes into her teens when she bravely joins an underground Black resistance movement called the Daughters. Throughout Ady’s often perilous journey, author Maurice Carlos Ruffin gives us insights into seldom-explored aspects of slavery, like the contrast between the physical torture of forced-labour camps and the isolation of city life. This is an unforgettable story about the battle for liberation.
