"My Monticello'' is an stunning collection of stories showing good people struggling to survive in a country where the rules are not the same for everyone. These tales are heartbreaking with characters futilely fighting for happiness in a world stacked against them. Discrimination is not just a buzzword here, it is a riptide to be reckoned with every day.
All six stories are universally powerful but the showpiece of this collection is the title novella "My Monticello ''. Society has broken down and white supremacists are burning and looting, forcing a mixed race group to take refuge nearby in Thomas Jefferson's old Monticello plantation. Included in this group is a black college student, Da'Naisha, who happens to be a descendant of Jefferson and his slave mistress Sally Hemings. Woven into the plot are brutal historical facts that just had me shaking my head... not everything was included in school textbooks.
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson's book is an important work and easily the best thing I have read this year. Each story is completely different in style, yet all solidly land their message. This is her first published book and it certainly holds a great promise for the future. Five stars.
All six stories are universally powerful but the showpiece of this collection is the title novella "My Monticello ''. Society has broken down and white supremacists are burning and looting, forcing a mixed race group to take refuge nearby in Thomas Jefferson's old Monticello plantation. Included in this group is a black college student, Da'Naisha, who happens to be a descendant of Jefferson and his slave mistress Sally Hemings. Woven into the plot are brutal historical facts that just had me shaking my head... not everything was included in school textbooks.
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson's book is an important work and easily the best thing I have read this year. Each story is completely different in style, yet all solidly land their message. This is her first published book and it certainly holds a great promise for the future. Five stars.
