NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post–Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives.“An absorbing historical . . . enthralling.”—Library JournalBestselling author Lisa Wingate … Journal
Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.
Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.
Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.
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A wonderful book about perseverance and acceptance
Wingate’s ability to shed light on the hidden parts of history with imaginative narrative is unmatched. I found myself draw into the lives of the characters like they were old friends of mine. They are so real that you feel like you can reach out and touch them. Finding how the two storylines intersect was every bit as satisfying as the narrative itself. A great read. I highly recommend it.
It was very good, the first book that I have ever read from Lisa Wingate was Before We were Yours, after that I started reading more of her books and loving them, the one that I loved the most was the book of lost friends so I really wanted to get another copy of it ( because I lost mine somewhere but I can’t remember) I would give this book 5 stars for the haunting, fantastic characters and the entertaining of this book.
A very well written and researched story of a horrible time in history. I learned a lot from this book. Would highly recommend.
Excellent action-packed historical fiction.
This was an emotional novel! This book ties the past from 1875 to the present time in Augustine, Louisiana, alternating between the two time periods. There is Benny who is a teacher in the present time. And there is Hannie, along with Missy Lavinia and Juneau Jane back in the past. Benny is struggling with motivating her students and dealing with the attitude of the town. And the other three young women are experiencing their own tragedies of what happened to them during the terrible time period of the Civil War. The story is told as heart wrenching at times and humorous at other parts of the book.
Beautiful story…important one, too. Gripping and a story I will think about for a long time.
I found this novel so engrossing I read it through in one afternoon. There are two parallel stories at work: One set in the 1980s in a backwater town in Louisiana, the other set in the era just after the Civil War. The issues in both stories are all too real, and perhaps because I live in what was once part of the Confederate South I could experience the tale at a different level than some of the reviewers who said they didn’t like it. We’re still dealing with the trauma of families looking for their ancestors, poring over old records of enslaved people being traded like household goods, families ripped apart, and legacies lost. I was especially intrigued by the 19th c. story because it involves an inheritance for a daughter from a “left hand” family, a mixed race woman who was left property by her father. I’d just finished reading a history about Florida law and this very topic and Ms. Wingate handles the issue with skill and depth. Oh, and there’s a Carnegie library and I love Carnegie libraries…but this one’s extra special.
Two stories, 100 years apart, that intertwine beautifully in the end. Wonderfully written with description I cherished rather than skimmed. A surprise near the end and a little romance. A great read! My only complaint is that the newspaper articles interspersed throughout were almost impossible to read on my original Kindle. Perhaps a newer Kindle would not have the same problem.
Had never heard about the book of lost friends. Awesome read!!
Recently, Lisa Wingate’s novels have drug me in and torn my heartstrings in the best way possible. Similarly to “Before We Were Yours” it is a story about a not pretty part of American history, that is interlaced with hope.
Lisa Wingate is a master story teller and story weaver. Time slip novels aren’t my favorite, but Wingate does it in such a way that I can’t imagine the stories being told in another way. And both core stories are SO good. Part of me wishes I could have read the stories separately in a connected way, but if I had done that I would have lost parts.
This book is so detail involved, that it truly cannot be read as a distracted read. This isn’t a fun read it for five minutes and go do something else read. The stories are too detailed and too important for that. You’ll want a time and place where you can appreciate the stories and what you are reading. It is another excellent novel by Lisa Wingate.
This is by far the BEST book I’ve read this year… and possibly in the last decade. Lisa Wingate remains my favorite author and continues to wow me with poignant characters, well-crafted plot, and a story that unfolds like a patchwork quilt long hidden and finally unearthed. Excellent! Outstanding!
At first, I was hesitant about The Book of Lost Friends because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to read all these different characters at once. Hannie gripped my attention first, and I wanted it to be solely from her perspective. However, once I started to read and learn about Lavinia and then Juneau Jane, I began to think otherwise. What changed my mind was Benedetta. Her storyline’s interwoven throughout in a beautiful way.
Lisa Wingate
Thank you so much to Lisa Wingate for writing this book. Families who were torn apart during the buying and selling of slavery needed to reconnect if possible with their families and the three young ladies in this book started a wonderful service. While the book has some tragic incidences and shows that even though you are free you still feel a need to take care of certain people in your life, shows that basic human decency comes through in good people. Lisa has a wonderful way of pulling you into the lives of her characters and you want to whisper in their ear things you know that will help them along their journey. This is a must read book and a definite book that should be read describing the history of our country. I have been reading Lisa for years after my mother gave me one of her first books and she will always be one of my favorite authors.
Definitely recommend this book. Lisa Wingate is a brilliant author. She weaves together a story of slavery post-Civil War 1875, with a modern day storyline in 1987. The Book of Lost Friends has heart, meaning, and a sense of purpose in recording a history that needs to be remembered. As she noted, she records the history as it was, without bias, for the sense of accuracy and not any sense of political correctness, which I appreciate on the sensitive topic of slavery. As to writing, everything – plot, characters, setting, and hooks that keep you turning the page – Wingate does it all. If you like good historical fiction, and loved her previous novel, Before We Were Yours, you will love this as well or better.
Eye-opener!
Beautifully written…., intriguing story
With each historical fiction novel I read, I learn another new piece of history I never learned in history class. These novels bring to life the amazing and interesting lives people lived during hard times. The Book of Lost Friends is based on true slaves who were looking for their long lost family members who had gotten sold decades before. Because of a newspaper that was wiling to print the details of what these people remembered, families were actually reunited. So AMAZING!
This novel is written with two storylines. The year 1875, and is the story line of a slave, Hannie who gets herself into a bit of trouble on a journey with two other girls. Hattie pretends to be a boy to go along on the adventure to find Mr. Gossett, the owner of the plantation she is on. He has gone missing and his two daughters need to find him or figure out what happened to him in order to gain any inheritance that is owed to them.
The second storyline is written over a century later, Benedetta Silva has taken on more than she can chew. A new school teacher, in a poor southern community, she struggles to get her classrooms in order and to actually get the kids to listen and want to be in school. After a little help from another student, an idea is struck and she comes up with the plan to help them research the history of their families and/or the town and then they will have to play out this person that they chose. The children actually seem excited for this assigned and start to enjoy coming to her class and being in school for Miss Silva.
The two storylines collide together as the kids do their research, and the Gossett family that is still around today is not happy about the assignment and the digging that these kids are doing. Some of the family will do anything they can to stop from the truth and secrets being uncovered, meanwhile Hattie and the other two are uncovering the truth about Mr. Gossett and what happened to him, the brother Lyle and the inheritance that is owed.
A very good read! I love reading historical novels and this one did not disappoint at all. I really loved how the author weaved the two time lines together and that sadly what happened a century ago still seems to hold onto what is happening in current times.
Very interesting perspective on slavery and the impacts on families. This book showed long term effects on the slaves and owners families.
I ordered this book because I like Wingate’s books — without reading the jacket. I assumed that is was a middle aged woman checking on old friends. Wrong! It’s a fascinating story about the freed slaves in the 1860’s and beyond who try to find family members who have been sold to different slave masters. There is a modern story that weaves together with the old. A wonderful read!