Tangleroot

The acclaimed INDIES INTRODUCE and INDIE NEXT debut YA novel about blood and family that is both history and mystery, perfect for fans of Angeline Boulley and Jesmyn Ward.

★ "A gripping and heartbreaking debut." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Noni Reid has grown up in the shadow of her mother, Dr. Radiance Castine, renowned scholar of Black literature, who is alarmingly perfect at just about everything.

When Dr. Castine takes a job as the president of the prestigious Stonepost College in rural Virginia, Noni is forced to leave her New England home and, most importantly, a prime internship and her friends. She and her mother move into the "big house" on Tangleroot Plantation.

Tangleroot was built by one of Noni's ancestors, an enslaved man named Cuffee Fortune--who Dr. Castine believes was also the original founder of Stonepost College, and that the school was originally formed for Black students. Dr. Castine spends much of her time trying to piece together enough undeniable truth in order to change the name of the school in Cuffee's honor--and to force the university to reckon with its own racist past.

Meanwhile, Noni hates everything about her new home, but finds herself morbidly fascinated by the white, slaveholding family who once lived in it. Slowly, she begins to unpeel the layers of sinister history that envelop her Virginia town, her mother's workplace, her ancestry--and her life story as she knew it. Through it all, she must navigate the ancient prejudices of the citizens in her small town, and ultimately, she finds herself both affirming her mother's position and her own--but also discovering a secret that changes everything.

Author: Kalela Williams
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: 10/15/2024
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.89lbs
Size: 8.51h x 5.75w x 1.16d
ISBN: 9781250880666
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2024
Booklist 10/01/2024 pg. 53
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2024
School Library Journal 11/22/2024 pg. 1

About the Author
Kalela Williams has always loved books, cats, and history. As a child, she began scrawling stories in marbled composition books. As a teenager, she'd blow out her birthday candles and wish for a greater light--to illuminate history through fiction, which makes her debut novel, Tangleroot, literally a dream come true. Kalela has made a career in literary events, directing everything from the citywide read program One Book, One Philadelphia, to the Virginia Festival of the Book. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Kalela now lives in the central Virginia town of Staunton with her partner, with who she runs a story-centered organization, The Off Center. Kalelawilliams.com