NAACP nominee and USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins continues her beloved Blessings series with a heartwarming novel about what really makes a family.There’s never a dull day in Henry Adams, Kansas.Tamar July has never had a great relationship with certain members of her family. In fact, she’d characterize it as a “hate/hate relationship.” But when her cousin calls her with the news … calls her with the news that she’s dying and wants Tamar to plan the funeral, she’s shocked but is willing to drop everything for her.
After a horrendous storm, Gemma finds a young boy and his little sister walking on the side of the road. She takes them in, and quickly falls in love with the orphaned siblings. But when Gemma contacts Social Services to try to become their foster mother, she’s told a white woman cannot foster African-American children.
In the midst of these trials, Jack and Rocky are trying to plan their wedding. The entire town comes together to lend a helping hand.
Though the residents of Henry Adams face seemingly insurmountable obstacles, each of them will discover that family comes in many forms, especially during the most trying of times.
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Welcome back to Henry Adams, Kansas the coolest “fictional” small town in America (in my opinion), for the eighth installment in The Blessings series by the incomparable Beverly Jenkins, with Chasing Down a Dream.
For those of you unfamiliar with Henry Adams, this town was founded by free Blacks and freed slaves in the late 1800s. This once prosperous town was down to a handful of residents before the current mayor, Trent July (grandson to the town’s matriarch Tamar July) put the town for sale on eBay (yes, eBay). That’s when the wealthy divorced Bernadine Brown stepped in and bought the town lock-stock-and-barrel. Over the past few years, she’s helped to rebuild the town’s infrastructure, paved roads, built a school, community center, church, homes, and brought in a grocery store and more. This once dying town, is now a thriving small town where everyone comes together to help out the town and each other.
Tamar July is the town matriarch and a speed demon (as evidenced by the speeding tickets she’s been accumulating lately). At 90+ years of age, she’s also wondering if her end is near as she’s recently begun having some strange dreams. The dreams begin to make sense when her cousin Eula Nance shows up, reveals she’s dying, wants to be around family near her end and wants Tamar to plan her funeral. Tamar, being Tamar, does the only thing she can do and takes her in, calls in the family. Gemma Dahl is making a new life for herself and her grandson in Henry Adams. She has a good job, a nice home, and is even going back to school to take a few business classes to give herself more opportunities for advancement. What she doesn’t expect to do is come upon two orphaned children and become a foster mother, but that’s exactly what she plans on doing until one social worker breaks up her newly enlarged family. Meanwhile, the town’s one restaurant, a diner actually, isn’t large enough and tentative plans are underway to build a slightly more upscale restaurant. Needless to say the current restaurant’s owner isn’t really happy with that idea even though there’s more than enough business to go around. In just a few short years, Henry Adams has a world-renowned recording studio, a newly refurbished diner, a recreational center, a church, a school, a newly refurbished and historic hotel featuring one bedroom apartments upstairs and mixed-use space downstairs (a hair salon, medical clinic, and a coffee shop), a community swimming pool, a volunteer fire department, and more. Although this town is growing by leaps and bounds, there’s still plenty of drama, some from ancient feuds, some from newly minted feuds, internal and external family feuds, and more.
I love the Blessings series and Henry Adams, Kansas. Yes, this town is filled with drama, but the people are realistic with their problems, quirks, and idiosyncracies. Some of these get worked out and some don’t, just like real life, but through it all the people of this small town work together to overcome obstacles. Ms. Beverly Jenkins has provided a wide array of themes in Chasing Down a Dream, including prejudice against past mistakes, racism (overt and covert), aging and the concept of usefulness, and family and she does it with respect for the weightiness of these issues and often a touch of humor to lighten things up. I feel as if I know the characters in this series, the women, men, and children. I can’t tell you what happens (read the book), but I was just as disappointed with Mal as others by his actions. I was a little worried at first that Tamar’s dreams might be foreshadowing her death, and I’ve got to say that I’m not ready to see Tamar die. I loved the drama around Rocky and Jack’s wedding, especially the drama caused by Jack’s cousin-in-law. I recently discussed this series with an online bookish friend and we both feel that The Blessings series are much more than just inspirational stories (no, there’s nothing wrong with being just an inspirational story); these are feel-good stories about family, community, and paying it forward (paying it forward even in the smallest way to make a difference). If you read this series, I don’t even have to tell you to grab a copy of Chasing Down a Dream because you know just how good this series is already. But just in case, go grab a copy of Chasing Down a Dream! If you haven’t read this series, you are really missing out, so go ahead and grab a copy of Chasing Down a Dream and then go back and read the previous seven titles. You can thank me later. If I hadn’t already reread this series earlier this year, I’d be re-rereading from book one, Bring on the Blessings, through book eight, Chasing Down a Dream. (Yes, I like this series just that much.)
Just waiting for an address and I am moving to Henry Adams!
I really enjoy Beverly Jenkins’ books. This was a continuation of the ongoing Blessings saga with the families and adopted children that make up the town of Henry Adams. There are always surprises and great new characters. If you haven’t read any books in the series, they are worth a look
Just discovered this author in 2017 and have purchased over 10 of her books. Excellent stories that are interconnected you then want to continue reading other books in her series. I am certainly enjoying my summer reading. Thanks for the Bookbud recommendations.
Beverly Jenkins is one of my favorite author. She never fails to make her stories realistic and amusing.
Love the whole Blessing series by BEVERLY JENKINGS!
Love Beverly Jenkins! She never disappoints!
No disappointed in the continuing series
I enjoy reading every Beverly Jenkins book. The historical characters are the ancestors to the characters in her modern day novels.
I enjoy each and every visit to Henry Adams and look forward to learning more and more about the young and old residents of this wonderful place. This latest book in Beverly Jenkins’ utterly amazing Blessings series introduces us to Lucas and Jasmine Herman, 10 and 8 years old respectively, being injured in a tornado and having their newly adoptive father killed during the same tornado as they travel through Henry Adams on the way to a new life in California. Some of our favorite Henry Adams residents: Mal July, town matriarch Tamar July, and town benefactress Bernadine Brown are experiencing some strong winds of change in their own lives and the after effects shock the whole town! There is so much in this story that will keep a reader riveted to each and every page. Each book can be read as a stand alone, but the entire series is addicting and will become a habit you’ll never want to break!
I have read the other seven books in this series and I love all of them so far. I can’t wait for the next one, Beverly Jenkins is a fantastic author.
This series of books is called the Blessing series and they are tremendous. It starts with a woman who has a multi million dollar divorce settlement and she wants to use it for blessings. Not just pass out money, but bless lives. She buys a town on ebay, promises the people who stay she will repair their house or build them a new one; in return she is bringing in 5 troubled foster children & couples to parent them, but she expects the whole town to participate in the lives of these children. Each book centers on a different family but more than that it is the blessing of caring about others. It is all about attitude and loving Godly relationships; forgiveness, acceptance, support, second chances….all things that can be hard to do sometimes, but such a blessing when we do.