From the bestselling author of Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed comes the empowering novel of two generations of American women connected by the past and fighting for a brighter future.
It’s 1894. Jordan Wallace and Sadie Wagner appear to have little in common. Jordan, a middle-aged black teacher, lives in segregated Chicago. Two thousand miles away, Sadie, the white wife of an ambitious German … wife of an ambitious German businessman, lives in more tolerant Oakland, California. But years ago, their families intertwined on a plantation in Virginia. There, Jordan’s and Sadie’s mothers developed a bond stronger than blood, despite the fact that one was enslaved and the other was the privileged daughter of the plantation’s owner.
With Jordan’s mother on her deathbed, Sadie leaves her disapproving husband to make the arduous train journey with her mother to Chicago. But the reunion between two families is soon fraught with personal and political challenges.
As the harsh realities of racial divides and the injustices of the Gilded Age conspire to hold them back, the women find they need each other more than ever. Their courage, their loyalty, and the ties that bind their families will be tested. Amid the tumult of a quickly changing nation, their destiny depends on what they’re willing to risk for liberation.
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When I started reading this book, I did not know that it is part of a series. I am glad I didn’t as I would have passed on this book. If you are reluctant to jump into the middle of a series (as I am), I assure you that this book did fine as a stand-alone. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story – the Pullman Strike, women’s suffrage, the anti-lynching campaign, and the fight for racial equality. But the best part of the book were the two families at the core of the story.
At the beginning of the book, Lisbeth and her daughter Sadie journey from Oakland CA to Chicago so Lisbeth can be with her childhood nanny and wet-nurse Mattie. Upon arrival in Oakland Sadie meets other members of Mattie’s family – daughter Jordan and granddaughter Naomi. It is now the 1890s and these two families – one from a wealthy plantation owner, the other slaves on that plantation – have a long history with each other.
I truly cared about the characters, holding my breath when some of them were threatened and endangered. The story invoked a wide range of emotions within me – grief, joy, fear, anger, triumph, pride.
I enjoyed Ibrahim’s smooth style of writing and will be reading more of her books. If you love a story with strong female characters, I highly recommend her books.
My favorite quote: “You set your fear right next to your hope until you know which one is your truth.”
I’ve really enjoyed following the lives of Lisbeth and Mattie. It was bittersweet to realize this was the last book in the series. This third book focuses on the next generations. Racial tensions made some progress since days on the Virginia plantation, but life is much more difficult for Mattie’s family. Ironically, I was reading this when George Floyd was murdered on the streets of Minneapolis. As protests and riots broke out all over the nation, it is clear that there is still so much more to be done for people of color to live freely without racial bias. These books, although fiction, just might open some minds. I encourage you to read “Yellow Crocus”, “Mustard Seed” and this final book, “Golden Poppies”. Thank you, Laila Ibrahim, for these wonderful books.
I really enjoyed this book. I requested that my library purchase this book and I am glad that they did. Even though the author does a wonderful job filling the reader in what happened, I recommend reading the books in order.
I liked the book. The author , being a native of Oakland, was knowledgeable about the immigration of Americans to the Oakland CA area in the late-1800’s.
As a lifelong rule follower, this represents a BIG departure for me. Although this book is volume 3 in a series of novels by Laila Ibrahim — I started with this one. And enjoyed it, without feeling I was missing much. Awarded four stars on Goodreads.
It’s a novel with many layers, about the confluence of civil rights and women’s rights. At the center is the complex relationships among a group of women, about thirty years (1894) after the end of the American Civil War. Some are white, some are black. A few are former slaves.
Mattie, her daughter Jordan, and Jordan’s daughter Naomi help to tell the story of Black Americans at this period. Having left a plantation, moved to Virginia, then Chicago and later to Oakland — their story is one of nascent freedom — with the external world still limiting their choices and threatening their safety on a daily basis. At the novel’s beginning, Mattie is ill and approaching death.
Lisbeth and her daughter Sadie are white, though that does not guarantee happiness. Sadie is married to an affluent German immigrant with a controlling nature and is dealing with a history of failed pregnancies.
It’s the interweaving of all these stories that Ibrahim does so skillfully. All the relationships are multi-dimensional — full of love and loyalty, resentment and envy, dependence and ignorance. Yet these women wind up forming their own kind of family, across racial lines. One where they support one another during intense challenges.
There are a few historical figures and events that are part of the narrative — Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and the Pullman train strike. And many of the women in the story become deeply involved in the struggle to give women the vote. We, of course, know that winning this fight is still a generation away.
I found this a decidedly feminist book. Not so much because of the suffrage movement — but because, at its heart, it’s about the strength women have when they unite with and support one another. Yes, there are some male characters. But while we learn about additional dimensions of of a racially-divided society from them, they feel much less central.
My primary criticism of the book came near the end, where there are some “speeches” made by several of the main characters (both black and white), It felt to me like these characters I had come to know and love were suddenly standing on soap boxes in a public park pontificating. It felt clunky and obvious, like the author needed to be sure we got her points and just didn’t feel like it was true to the characters.
Overall, what you get from the novel is a sense of what the racial reality was at the end of the 19th century in the United States: how much (or how little) Black Americans had achieved with emancipation, how and where they were “allowed” to live and work, and the many ways in which white Americans continued to use their power to enforce segregation.
My recommendation would be to read the entire series. But unlike me, start from the beginning. I will probably go back to Ibrahim’s earlier books in this series, to learn more about this interesting and rich collection of characters.
BOOK REVIEW: Golden Poppies by author, Laila Ibrahim
From the best-selling author of Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed, comes Book 3 of this saga…
A story of four women from two famlies, brought together in the midst of the harsh realities of The Gilded Age.
With connections that span generations, where past and present meet in the hopes for a brighter future, these women will impact your life through the complexities of hardship and the compelling descriptions of lives lived during the Civil War, slavery, segregation and and the suffragette movement, for both Black and White Americans.
A thought provoking narrative that will resonate with all readers as it draws you into a world of empowerment, friendship, trust and understanding. It will grab your heart as it educates, entertains and shines its light on non-traditional family bonds. A wonderful weave between love, hope and faith.
I would like to thank Ms. Ibrahim for my copy of Golden Poppies, and allowing me the opportunity to not only enjoy, but to recommend by reviewing this wonderful story .
4 Stars
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Wild Sage Book Blog
A great read for today’s marches. I real look at a history of bias for USA. A beautiful story of real friendship and love. A real story of taking care of those around you and those who need you.
Mattie and Lisbeth concluded with their children and grandchildren.
Excellent read about a time in America where women were subject to their husbands cruelty and blacks were second class citizens. A wonderful ending that didn’t leave me hanging.
This book did not disappoint n