Redwood Court (Reese's Book Club): Fiction

This took me straight back to my childhood in the 80’s. Such a different world we live in today. The Gen X beginning of the helicopter parenting after the last generation of the latch key kid.I could hear the boom boxes of the cars, imagine daddy trying to keep kids as kids forever, and living up every summer in between.Thanks for the opportunity, and so sorry it took so long!

It just wasn't interesting. I've ready many wonderful, engaging stories about the black culture, but this wasn't one of them.

This family saga told from multiple POVs covers three generations. It’s a story about the characters, their relationships, and the love of family.

I was interested in this as it was a Reese’s book club pick and I have never read one of her choices. I thought at first the characters would be too hard to keep track of but it was a sweet and interesting story of 3 generations of a black family. I appreciated the closeness of the family and the traditions and life experiences they went through. I enjoyed most of it but it seemed the last few chapters were just going on and on and then it just ended. Seemed like the author knew it needed to come to some closure. It fell short of a satisfactory one for me.

“You have all these stories inside you – that’s what we have to pass on – all the stories everyone in our family knows and all the stories everyone in our family tells….The ones you’ll live to tell someone else. That’s a gift that gives and gives and gives. You get to make it into something for tomorrow. You write ‘em in your books and show everyone who we are.”Redwood Court is a story of Black families growing up in the South. It is like taking your time and looking at a friend’s old photo album. (Since the story covers time between the Korean War and Y2K, I appreciated the helpful character list in the beginning.) It is slices of life – good, uncomfortable, hopeful, sad.I liked teen-aged Mika’s voice - an honest slice of teen life friends and family, but unlike mine, her life had racial issues I never had to deal with. “When they were growing up, all the folks we socialized with abided by the same set of Black-people codes; everyone is eligible to correct you if they see you out in the world acting a fool.”In the acknowledgements, Author Demeron says, “Like my own experience, Redwood Court’s interior world is help up by Black women who love each other…Growing up in a Southern suburban town as a dark-skinned Back girl was made bearable and sweet by the community of friends, elders, and of course my family who supported my dreams in ways I’m still uncovering.” Her light shines through the book.