This is one of the best books I have ever read. I found myself immersed in this book right away from the beginning. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. The characters were so well written that I was living the story right along with them. So much so that I'd look up from reading only to find that hours had passed and I hadn't noticed. I cried and hurt with them in their sadness, I laughed with them, I fell in love with them. I lived the story with them. The story has all the elements of life....tragedy and loss, compassion and love, friends and enemies, hardships and blessings, lost love and new found love. It was an awful time of racial tensions in the 1960's but this book brought the characters together to stand with each other because they cared about each other. They didn't let racial barriers separate them. It is a way we should all treat each other no matter our race, prosperity, where we come from, or our professions. It's never wrong to do what's right. I want to thank Bookish and Netgalley for the honor of reading this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.