author of The Birds of Opulence Crystal Wilkinson
Angela Jackson Brown interrogates race, love and family with empathy and style, making her an author you will want to read again and again. This tale of America's tragic past is both compelling and cinematic as the Pruitt and Ketchum families struggle in the mire of racism in the 1930s. It's a moving novel that boldly illuminates the past but also speaks directly to today's politics and the power of faith. You will fall in love with the book's resilient protagonist Opal. I certainly did.
Historical Novel Society
When Stars Rain Down is a book with religious themes, but if that's not your preference, don't let that stop you. The writing is beautiful, the story compelling, the characters vividly drawn, and religion is a backdrop, not the main story. Opal's voice is pitch-perfect, and the plot has enough surprises to keep you turning pages late into the night. I give this book a whole-hearted thumbs up.
Alabama Public Radio
Along the way, [Jackson-Brown] deals with a series of issues: racism, teenage love, the death of our elders. These issues are not just talked through. Jackson-Brown the dramatist presents them in a series of carefully crafted scenes, almost one-act plays. Once in a while, one reads a novel and can already see the film to be made from it.
Southern Literary Review
All in all, When Stars Rain Down is worthy of any reader's attention—especially fans of Southern literature. The writing is eloquent, the story is filled with conflict and tension balanced by warmth and charity, the characters are vivid and well-developed, and the impact is profound. This is the kind of book that will resonate long after the last pages are read.
author of Stars of Alabama Sean Dietrich (Sean of the South)
In this world there are writers and there are artists. Angela Jackson-Brown is both.
author of Southernmost Silas House
When Stars Rain Down is so powerful, timely, and compelling that sometimes I found myself holding my breath while reading it. Rarely have I been so attached to characters and felt so transported to a time and place. This is an important and beautifully written must-read of a novel. Opal is a character I will never forget.
Library Journal
★ 04/01/2021
Opal Pruitt is just about to turn 18 in the oppressively hot summer of 1936. She works hard at her job, takes care of her beloved Granny, and dreams about boys with her cousin Lucille. The young Black teenager's journey to adulthood will be forged in fire, though, when the Ku Klux Klan attacks her neighborhood and she endures a vicious beating at the hands of an unknown white attacker. Although slavery is over, Parsons, GA, is still starkly divided along unequal racial lines, and Opal begins to fear that her community's thirst for justice on her behalf could ignite a chain reaction with devastating consequences. VERDICT Jackson-Brown (House Repairs) paints a vivid picture of family and community persevering in the pressure cooker of the Deep South. Readers will be drawn to Opal's intelligent and authentic voice, as the books confronts issues of racism, injustice, and white privilege head-on. This is a powerful Own Voices contribution to the historical fiction genre, joining titles such as Alka Joshi's The Henna Artist and Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek in their unflinching look at the past.—Christine Barth, Scott Cty. Lib. Syst., IA
