What a beautiful family the Davenport's were in the early 1900's! They brought their appeal, immense wealth, fashion and confidence to the town. They defied the odds as one of the few black families that made a fortune under their entrepreneurship The Davenport Carriage Co. Their father William Davenport was once a slave and now he owns a business with servants in his home. This historical fiction is actually based on the C.R. Patterson family that brought automobiles to life owning their own company. I was disappointed to find limited information about this family or images.
The characters come to life with several POVs giving insight to their thoughts and actions. The beautiful girls are highly sought after. Their exquisite taste in dresses and men will have you cheering for their individuality and spark. Olivia, the beautiful and oldest daughter has her sight set on Civil Rights leader and very charismatic Washington DeWight.
Helen is the youngest daughter and is more interested in working on cars even though the family pushes her towards dresses and acting like a lady. Ruby is Olivia's best friend and her sights set on their brother John, so does their childhood friend and servant in the house, Amy-Rose.
The book does carry a lot of conflict and unrest during the civil rights movement, but this is more about capturing the beauty of the Davenport's and their love for the community and helping others. They met racial disparities and indifference holding their head up and persevering with their parents loving guidance. It wasn't easy and double standards were at every angle, but the admiration of this hard working family to work their way to the top of the wealth chain will have you cheering them on.
This is a YA and a very quick read! The cover is beautiful and the yellow is such an uplifting color for this book. The writing is charming and the humor is sprinkled lightly to add to this Must-Read YA. Thank you Penguin Random House and Bookish First for my physical copy to add to our library in exchange for my honest review.
The characters come to life with several POVs giving insight to their thoughts and actions. The beautiful girls are highly sought after. Their exquisite taste in dresses and men will have you cheering for their individuality and spark. Olivia, the beautiful and oldest daughter has her sight set on Civil Rights leader and very charismatic Washington DeWight.
Helen is the youngest daughter and is more interested in working on cars even though the family pushes her towards dresses and acting like a lady. Ruby is Olivia's best friend and her sights set on their brother John, so does their childhood friend and servant in the house, Amy-Rose.
The book does carry a lot of conflict and unrest during the civil rights movement, but this is more about capturing the beauty of the Davenport's and their love for the community and helping others. They met racial disparities and indifference holding their head up and persevering with their parents loving guidance. It wasn't easy and double standards were at every angle, but the admiration of this hard working family to work their way to the top of the wealth chain will have you cheering them on.
This is a YA and a very quick read! The cover is beautiful and the yellow is such an uplifting color for this book. The writing is charming and the humor is sprinkled lightly to add to this Must-Read YA. Thank you Penguin Random House and Bookish First for my physical copy to add to our library in exchange for my honest review.