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In this unique novel, fiction blends with drama, and readers meet a tight-knit Arkansas family. Beginning in autumn, that "Queen among seasons," the narrative travels with Kailene M. Johnson and her brother, Pickens W. Black IV, through Blackville, Arkansas. From there, one encounters a cast of characters, including the memorable and philosophical Kamau and Damon Jr., a young man struggling to overcome the hardships of the "Jim Crow" era. While the novel centers on Damon, one follows Damon's supportive family. They are gathered around him as he pursues education and utilizes his talents to better himself, his family, the world, and others around him. A spiritual journey also unfolds and leaves readers with the comfort, "Now that ~We~ have introduced ~Ourselves~ to you, let ~Us~, the storytellers, move on and tell you the story."
Poetic and moving, this book invites readers into a personal vault of experience and history. Despite being set in a fictional work, the hardships the characters endure and overcome have historically been a reality for America's marginalized groups. At a different level, the novel becomes sociological and focuses on the importance of community and the nuances that shape a community and its members for generations to come. In other instances, the novel takes on a spiritual and philosophical tone, reminding one that "'Yes, sir, but human beings, men who wrote the book, are just humans, and humans are very limited. So the next question becomes 'Who has seen God?'" The novel highlights the historical oppression of black culture and black voices, making the book an important contribution to America's ongoing discussions about culture, race, and its fraught history of uplifting the oppressed.