Tangleroot

Starred review from August 1, 2024
In this mystery set in the rural South, a teen from Wellesley, Massachusetts, faces racist legacies and the enduring implications of enslavement. Sophronia "Noni" Reid is devastated when her mother makes her give up a dream internship in costume design to move to Magnolia, Virginia. Her mom, an esteemed researcher in the field of Black literature, is the new president at an elite liberal arts college in her small hometown, and frustrated Noni, who feels like she's living in her mom's shadow, struggles to adjust. Their new home, Tangleroot, was built by Noni's great-great-great-grandfather, who was enslaved there. While she's exploring the former plantation's cemetery, Noni discovers a grave belonging to a Sophronia Dearborn, who died in 1859 at the age of 18 and was buried with her baby boy, who died the same day. Hoping to learn more, Noni accepts a commission from one of the area's most influential--and racist--white families to sew a dress based on one her seamstress great-great-grandmother designed for one of their forebears. Along the way, the history of the dress and the search to learn more about the other Sophronia lead to the unearthing of long-buried secrets. Each well-chosen detail Williams includes of Noni's daily life, quest for autonomy, and search for answers is essential to this coming-of-age story. Racism, past and present, adds palpable tension as Noni brings her family's true history to light and reckons with her own sense of identity. A gripping and heartbreaking debut. (content warning, author's note)(Mystery. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* A contemporary Black teen digs into the mysteries and secrets of family heritage in this complex debut. The summer before college, Sophronia "Noni" Reid wins a prestigious Boston internship in costume design. Instead, Dr. Castine, her mother (freshly divorced), takes the two of them south to her rural hometown of Magnolia, Virginia, where she is installed as president of Stonepost College. They move into Tangleroot, the plantation house that their ancestor, Cuffee Fortune, built on land left to him by his enslaver, Thomas Dearborn, after the Civil War. Dr. Castine's goal is to prove that Fortune also constructed the college. But what about Noni's goals? Her lack of interest in their new home is clear until she stumbles on the gravestone of Sophronia "Sophie" Dearborn, who died in 1859 at age 18, alongside her newborn. From there, a fascination with the Dearborns is born. The depth of the author's historical research is evident in her creation of both an enslaved person's narrative and the diary of a plantation owner's daughter. Rape culture is presented off the page as an element of racism past and present. Noni undergoes a thoughtful transformation from an immature, disengaged teen into a young woman who is accountable for her mistakes and owns her identity; Williams' work is worth keeping an eye on.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 22, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Noni is devastated when her mother suddenly informs her that they are moving to rural Virginia, where her mother grew up, upending Noni's college plans and forcing her to leave her friends and an internship she worked hard to earn. Noni has always felt overshadowed and unseen by her mother, a renowned researcher of African American history, whom Noni feels dismisses her love of art and fashion design. Her mother hopes being surrounded by her family history will help Noni learn about who she is. At first, Noni is angry and resentful. Still, as she adjusts to her new life on the Tangleroot plantation, she develops friendships and becomes fascinated by the interwoven history of the slaveholding families and the enslaved, and how that history shapes her own family's ancestry. She agrees to make a dress for Lana Jean, the granddaughter of a powerful senator whose family profited from slavery in the past and currently supports maintaining Confederate Southern history, in exchange for historical documents she hopes will be about her family's legacy. Noni's research includes many twists and turns that keep readers engaged as she and her mother's family secrets are revealed. Readers will relate to the loving yet complex relationship that Noni and her mother have and will root for them to resolve their differences. Williams brings the historical aspects of the story to life, and realistic, thoughtful passages about race relations, confederate statues, and Southern life will interest and resonate with readers who relish complicated conversations. VERDICT A wonderful coming-of-age story that successfully explores the roles that secrets and family history play in shaping family relationships.-Margaret Auguste

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.