We Hope for Better Things is one of the best books I've read in a long long time. The author juxtaposes three different time periods and three different sets of characters beautifully. The one set in present time is a first-person narration, and the other two are third person narration. It was incredibly interesting to see the roles of multi-racial couples in various time periods. The Civil War period story broke my heart, the Civil Rights Era plot line was equally engaging, and the present day story was good too. I love historical fiction, so I was more engaged by the two historical time periods, but the present day story tied it all together. The writer does a wonderful job with cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter ... I honestly didn't want the book to end. Excellent read!!