Publishers Weekly
★ 01/11/2021
This harrowing fictional account of Black community action centers the eve of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Angel Hill, 16, is a quiet churchgoing dancer with a passion for helping others and a love for Booker T. Washington. Beneath his mischievous exterior, 17-year-old Isaiah Wilson is a poet who admires W.E.B. Du Bois. Angel is beloved by all of Greenwood, a town of Black excellence across the Frisco tracks from white Tulsa, Okla., while Isaiah is known for hanging out with the wrong crowd. Paired together for a summer job manning a mobile library, the two immediately begin debating the philosophies of “tolerant” Washington and more “active” Du Bois. They also instantly fall in love: Isaiah with Angel’s dance and compassion, she with his poetry and exuberance, and both with the other’s undying devotion to Greenwood, America’s Black Wall Street. Life is disrupted, though, when white Tulsans invade Greenwood and set the town ablaze. Rich in its discussion of Black literature, this novel brilliantly juxtaposes a lighthearted story of young Black love with a deft reminder that such beauty has often been violently seized from Black people, and that these instances deserve remembrance. Ages 12–up. Agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Notable Social Studies Selection, Children's Book Council
A BuzzFeed "Historical Fiction Book That Will Start 2021 Off Right"
“The romantic love in [Angel of Greenwood] is big and beautiful and pure. And beyond the love between two teenagers, there's a deep love of community and home. Greenwood feels so wholesome, so idyllic, and when the hate breaks through, it will break your heart....I hope teachers assign this in schools and librarians turn it face-out on the shelves. American kids need to know this history to be good citizens.” —National Public Radio (NPR)
"This harrowing fictional account of Black community action centers the eve of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.... Rich in its discussion of Black literature, this novel brilliantly juxtaposes a lighthearted story of young Black love with a deft reminder that such beauty has often been violently seized from Black people, and that these instances deserve remembrance." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The tragedy of Greenwood is made especially palpable here not only in the depiction of the violence but also in the portrayal of the thriving, successful, neighborly place that it is before the massacre. Isaiah and Angel give solid representations of their two at-odds idols, with Isaiah examining how the double consciousness of Blackness affects every relationship he has, including with Angel. Their romance gives a touch of softness to what ultimately feels like a timely cautionary tale for the nation’s current racial reckoning." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"The climax of the book is utterly devastating, tragic, and heartbreaking. Pink reclaims untold stories from the past, giving names and faces to the lives stolen a century ago in moving and vivid detail, while still managing to engender hope and survival, a message that will certainly hit differently for different readers." —Culturess
"While we’ve acknowledged the economic impact of the violence, many haven’t scratched the surface of what that moment felt like for the people who called Greenwood home. In this novel, a teen comes of age in Tulsa in 1921, underscoring what it was like for Black teenagers trying to find their place in the world amid tragedy." —ELLE magazine
School Library Journal
01/22/2021
Gr 9 Up—The love story of Isaiah Wilson and Angel Hill begins in 1921, 12 days before the Tulsa race massacre. World War I is still in the memories of the residents of Greenwood, the section of Tulsa known as Black Wall Street. Isaiah is not thought highly of in the community because of the people he chooses as friends. The community loves Angel and is always looking out for her. The seed for Isaiah and Angel's young love is planted when they are asked to work on a teacher's summer literacy project. Their relationship is tested by the community busybodies, but the ultimate test comes during the early morning hours of June 1, 1921, when white citizens of Tulsa set fire to the homes and businesses of Greenwood. Each chapter tells the story through the perspective of different characters, mostly alternating between Angel and Isaiah. The setting of the 1921 Tulsa massacre is a powerful and ambitious choice; however, most of the story is spent slowly building up the relationship between the two main characters. Their relationship is believable, but few details of the setting make it feel like 1921. The pace picks up as readers arrive at the early morning hours of June 1. The story ends abruptly, leaving readers with questions about the fate of Greenwood, its citizens, and the young couple. The author's concise afterword offers some additional information. VERDICT Readers looking to familiarize themselves with the Tulsa race massacre will find more love story than history lesson in this historical novel.—Michelle Kornberger, Havenview M.S., Memphis
