Skenandore, Amanda

Effie’s community of freedmen and Creoles in Reconstruction New Orleans is unforgettable. Skenandore’s second novel (after Between Earth and Sky) is recommended for readers who enjoy medical historical fiction reminiscent of Diane McKinney-Whetstone’s Lazaretto, and historical fiction with interpersonal drama.

Toggling her plot between two time lines and drawing on the experiences of a close relative, a member of the Ojibwe tribe, who attended such a boarding school in the 1950s, first novelist Skenandore unfolds a heartbreaking story about the destructive legacy of the forced assimilation of Native American children. Historical fiction readers and book discussion groups will find much to ponder here.