The Girl at the Back of the Bus: An absolutely heart-wrenching historical novel

'The Girl at the Back of the Bus' by Suzette D. Harrison is a historical fiction story that follows the paths of two women dealing with racial injustices decades apart. Told in a split narrative across two timelines, the book begins centered around Mattie Banks. Sixteen years old and pregnant, she boards a bus, hoping the driver will carry her away from disaster. Purely by chance, she happens to witness an act of bravery by a woman named Rosa Parks. Inspired, she decides to go a different direction with her choices, but dangers and difficulties seem to rise up around her. Meanwhile, in the present, Ashlee Turner.. dismayed by prejudice and its effects on a career she has worked so hard for, heads home to see her beloved grandmother while she still can. When she finds a hidden trove of letters containing a family secret, she too finds herself at a crossroads. I was certainly enraged at the injustices portrayed here, likely in part because though so much time has passed since Mattie's tale, not nearly enough has changed. Normally I find it hard to read detailed accounts of the horrible things people do to each other in the name of some perceived right they think they have and I didn't like seeing those things here either. However, I find it incredibly important to keep talking about them.. because I fear that if we as a society ever allow ourselves to forget the things that have been done.. that are still being done.. we will fail to find them as horrifying as we should. And frankly, it seems we're on the verge of failing that anyway. That being said, the writing is clean and crisp, the structure is sound, and the author does an excellent job of maintaining those two separate voices. There are no surprises here. Of course, there doesn't need to be a twist in everything, but I did come across a couple of spots where misdirection could have made the difference in keeping the storytelling itself, more interesting. I've read that reviewers were "enthralled and riveted".. but for me, it was just pretty good. I believe the sheer quality of the writing carried the story for most people, but the storytelling aspect was actually outmatched by the technical skill of the author. Quite possibly, the events themselves inspired others to rate the story higher, and that makes absolute sense to me.. but in trying to be objective about the overall presentation, I feel like it could have been more balanced. Yes. The things these two women experienced were unjust and should never have happened, but I actually think it could have packed a much bigger emotional punch than it did. I did enjoy the characters immensely though. From Dorothy and Mattie, to Ransome and Sadie.. they were painted vividly, full of warmth and determination. Nonetheless, as I said.. there are some very important topics discussed here.. and that alone might make this story a worthwhile read. It's a good reminder of a terrible time that is not so far behind us and a healthy wake-up call not to dismiss current situations still facing people today. (I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)

The Girl at the Back of the Bus is set in the Deep South of America across two timelines- the 1950s and the present day. In the 1950s storyline we follow Mattie who at just 16 years old finds herself pregnant with limited options as a black girl living under Jim Crow. In the present day timeline, we follow Ashlee a promising black lawyer who is getting increasingly tired of dealing with microaggressions at work and being overlooked for promotion by her white, male bosses. The two stories eventually come together and this, I thought, was done beautifully. I appreciated how the 1950s story incorporated real life events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and even references the real life historical figure, Rosa Parks. The present day storyline looks at issues of race that we continue to deal with including the challenges of inter-racial relationships, the legacy of slavery and the importance of continuing to tell the story of pioneering African-Americans. Harrison's writing flows wonderfully and the pages just flew by. I found myself compelled to go back to the characters and came to care about them. I liked how Harrison addressed difficult issues such as racism and pregnancy outside of wedlock, without ever allowing those issues to bog down the narrative. As a result, I found The Girl at the Back of the Bus to be an uplifting read despite some of the tough things the characters had to face. A thread of strong family ties and support from the community runs throughout the novel and shows that even though black people still suffer from systemic prejudice, family and friendship is a lifeline that allows there to also be joy, hope and meaningful connection.

Wow , if you read one book in the next few months make it The Girl at the Back of the Bus. It is beautifully written and is a story of courage, determination and grit of Mattie and her family. It is told from both the past and the present and the past was so full of fascinating history and you feel you are on that bus with Mattie and Rosa Parks. Ashlee , Mattie's granddaughter is at a cross roads in her life and comes home to see her ailing Grandmother. I laughed with both Mattie and Ashlee and I cried with them both. Both a heartwarming and heart wrenching story; don't miss The Girl at the Back of the Bus. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an inspiring read that I won't forget anytime soon.