Tonya Bolden

Savannah Riddle feels suffocated by her life as the daughter of an upper class African American family in Washington, D.C., until she meets a working-class girl named Nella who introduces her to the suffragette and socialist movements and to her politically active cousin Lloyd.

Saving Savannah

Jessica 

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  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. 
 

Such a beautiful story. I'm in awe. Saving Savannah is one of those novels that reminds me why I've always adored a good piece of historical fiction. You can't go wrong with historically based novels when they are portrayed like Saving Savannah. It is simply breathtaking. (And so is that cover! Wow!) Tonya Bolden is here to show us how it's done and you definitely should be listening. 

Admittedly, the era in which Saving Savannah is set within, isn't one I typically reach for. That would be why the synopsis alone piqued my interest. It's not a story we see told often enough. But, it's a story that we needed to have in the world. You can certainly feel the ache and echo of the history that is covered throughout Saving Savannah. Not a single page goes by where time isn't used wisely. 

As for the characters, the importance and development is all there. Savannah herself is a character that you won't soon forget. Watching as she explores life outside of her privileged upbringing and growing into the young women she was always meant to be was an absolute pleasure. As she is able to learn the life and times of her era, we, too, learn. 

Saving Savannah is many things: well researched, well paced, full of life, rich with history and absolutely stunning to read. Tonya Bolden's writing is almost hypnotic in quality; the type of writing that you could easily get lost in. Grab yourself a warm drink and curl up to this novel--you won't regret it.

From acclaimed author Tonya Bolden comes the story of a teen girl becoming a woman on her own terms against the backdrop of widespread social change in the early 1900s. Savannah Riddle is lucky. As a daughter of an upper class African American family in Washington D.C., she attends one of the most rigorous public schools in the nation--black or white--and has her pick among the young men in her set. But lately the structure of her society--the fancy parties, the Sunday teas, the pretentious men, and shallow young women--has started to suffocate her. Then Savannah meets Lloyd, a young West Indian man from the working class who opens Savannah's eyes to how the other half lives. Inspired to fight for change, Savannah starts attending suffragist lectures and socialist meetings, finding herself drawn more and more to Lloyd's world. Set against the backdrop of the press for women's rights, the Red Summer, and anarchist bombings, Saving Savannah is the story of a girl and the risks she must take to be the change in a world on the brink of dramatic transformation.

Saving Savannah

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