Manifested Dreams by Yvonne Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This original story by Dr. Yvonne Johnson is a fascinating, emotional and thought provoking novel. ‘Manifested Dreams’ “chronicles the history of an African-American family through several generations living in a radically divisive America”. The story is told via letters which Amari is reading, the box of letters was found in his beloved grandma’s belongings after she had died. Amari loved listening to his grandma tell him stories from their past and when he discovers these letters he realises it is where the stories come from. Each letter is written by a different person in a different generation and explores the world around them and how they live at that time. Sallie who was born as a slave to slave parents on the Davies Plantation in Tennessee writes about how it was like to live as an African-American in the 1860s. The next letter is from her daughter Isabelle who talks about what life was like in the 1920s. The following letters explore the lives of Lisa, Jessica, and lastly Amari, who is reading the letters. As a whole the letters and the stories in them “presents the life of African-Americans throughout history” and looks at how each generation has dealt with racial inequities.

The storyline is unique and had me gripped from the start, however I did find the story a bit slow to start with and hard to get into. It took me a while to get used to the authors style of writing and the story being told via letters, but once I did I was hooked. I definitely recommend sticking with the book although it’s not an easy read. The author obviously is very knowledgeable and at times the history facts do get in the way of the natural flow of the story however, her descriptive narrative really brings the settings and characters to life. It is the characters and their individual stories that kept me turning the pages eager to learn about their lives. I like how the story ends as it begins with Amari talking about his memories of his grandma. A historical note from the author would have been interesting at the end maybe. This engaging and touching novel took me on a journey along with Amari and his ancestors and it also took me on an emotional rollercoaster. Although not an epic in pages it is an epic in storytelling and I recommend that everyone read it and learn about African-American history.

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