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Black Cake
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
204 posts | 170 read | 3 reading | 74 to read
In this moving debut novel, two estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother's death and her hidden past--a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to London to California and ends with her famous black cake. In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett's death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a traditional Caribbean black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking journey Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child, challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their family, and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor's true history, and fulfill her final request to "share the black cake when the time is right?" Will their mother's revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson's debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names, can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
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review
Erin.Elizabeth10
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

This month‘s book club pick! This was a good one for discussion because there is SO MUCH going on in this book. I won‘t even try to explain the plot. 😂 At first, the endless characters and storylines annoyed me, but over time as things developed and tied together, I liked it better. By the end, it was a pick for me!

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Coleen
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Mehso-so

Good baseline story, though I felt the author tried to include too much “extra” stuff that felt forced & that bogged it down a bit. Currently watching the series on Hulu, which I am enjoying and seems to be pretty faithful to the book.

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JenniferEgnor
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

When you‘re at the end of life, all your secrets either die with you, or are told. Here, they are secrets of sexual assault, paternal trauma, murder, immigration, identity, love, the real price of sugar, and…a Jamaican Black Cake. A life story full of sadness but also love is revealed to the next generation. What will they do with those secrets?

16 likes1 comment
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HeyT
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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#BookReport
I read a lot this week but mostly books I don't track. I enjoyed it and hopefully it will help me get out of my current reads slump.

#WeeklyForecast
My goal this week is to finish Black Cake for work as the book club I moderate is on the 30th. I'd also like to get farther in Fox Wife as it's due back on Libby soon.

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REPollock
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

My new best read of the year. A structural tour de force.

JenniferEgnor I just checked this one out from the library yesterday. Is the show of the same name on Hulu based on this book? 6mo
REPollock @JenniferEgnor I didn‘t know there was a show with the same name, maybe! 6mo
LiteraryinPA This was so good that I had my mom and sisters read it too! 6mo
REPollock @LiteraryinLawrence it‘s been awhile since a book was so good I bought copies to give as gifts but this one is it for the forseeable future! 6mo
20 likes1 stack add4 comments
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MysticFaerie
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

4.5⭐️/5⭐️

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nonbinaryandbitter
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

I thought it was a slow start but once I got engaged in the characters it was a beautiful human story. Fast read!

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TalesandTexts
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

Black Cake follows the life of Eleanor Bennet, an older Caribbean woman living in California; and the mystery that shrouds her past.

It also follows the lives of Byron & Benny, her two children, and their experiences as black/brown people living in a white-ruled country.

It was nice to learn about the history of the Caribbean - both socia-culturally & culinarily.

However, the author wrote about way too many issues, making the script too busy.

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Nessavamusic
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this multigenerational story about a woman who shares her past with her children after she passes away. It is a remarkable story with Caribbean culture and a bit of a mystery. We read it for my book club and I look forward to our discussion. 5⭐️
Has anyone seen the tv series? Another #roll100 off the TBR!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks On my shelf 📚 9mo
ErikasMindfulShelf The tv show was really good! 9mo
PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 9mo
54 likes3 comments
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DaNae.Gr
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Halfway through and I‘m enjoying it. Wow!

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vlwelser
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

This was so good. Nearly 5⭐ except the ending is too long. That's just my opinion. I definitely did not need a wrap up that included all of the secondary characters. It's possible I was being moody.

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Kitta
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved this story intertwining multiple generations of a family across their lives in the Caribbean, the UK and the USA.

A book about how family recipes can link us, about family history and how it defines us, and about love.

I really liked the history of the ingredients and recipes, the influence of multiple cultures and countries coming together, and the ocean science scattered throughout.

Fantastic first novel!

#botm

Kitta Also counts for #lgbtqbookbingo2024 #lgbtq2024! (edited) 9mo
28 likes1 comment
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AmyK1
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

“I don‘t believe that we can fully lay claim to a tradition if we are not willing to recognize what we have taken from other cultures over time, for better or worse.”

This is a story about family, tradition, identity, loyalty, secrets and what a person is willing to do.

This was a book club pick for this month. If not for that, I probably wouldn‘t have picked it up. 5⭐️

Sargar114 Loved this book, didn‘t realize it was turned into a show (edited) 9mo
44 likes1 comment
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wideeyedreader
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow. I LOVED this book. So glad I suggested it for book club!

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NovelNancyM
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

I have mixed feelings about this book. A couple of key plot events were too good to be true when people who had lost touch were reconnected. Also, in some ways the story was trying to do too much - it had themes of systemic racism, bisexuality, rape, domestic abuse, adoption. On the other hand, I liked the short chapters and the switching back and forth in time. It kept my interest and was easy for me to read many pages quickly. 3.5 stars

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Brooke_H
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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The best bookstore is the kind with a dog. 🐶

Leftcoastzen Yay!🐶 10mo
AmyG Agreed! 10mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 10mo
26 likes3 comments
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Librarybelle
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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I read a few standout books in #April , but I picked Black Cake to highlight - I felt it was so beautifully written and emotionally charged. A family with a secret past, estranged siblings, and the uncovering of that secret. Incredible story.

I also have to mention A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum, which I also completed in April and was astounded by it.

#12BooksOf2023

Andrew65 Looks a good read. 10mo
51 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Bluebird
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Loved the audiobook!
#12booksof2023
@Andrew65

Andrew65 Need to explore this one. 10mo
15 likes1 stack add1 comment
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kspenmoll
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Andrew65 Another book new to me. Too many books too little time. 🤯 10mo
41 likes1 comment
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Booksandtea23
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Hopefully this is the last book of the year but finally starting it after promising myself to read it soon.

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SW-T
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

I debated on watching this, reading the text, or audiolistening. Chose to #audiolisten and the audio made it interesting. Enjoyed how the different viewpoints developed and wove together. It also made me want to try black cake. 😂

#audiolisten

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S3V3N
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Mehso-so

I couldn‘t get into it. I even watched the series. It just wasn‘t great for me. Deep though.

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megnews
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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kspenmoll Love this book hope you do too. 12mo
AnnR @megnews Thinking of you today and hoping the New Year looks brighter for you. 🎄📚🤗 10mo
44 likes2 comments
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Adventures_of_a_French_Reader
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Mehso-so

Interesting plot, but I felt that some characters or parts of the plot were underdeveloped. It's well constructed, I see why the author chose the flashbacks and the different voices to write her book, but the end of the book (last 100 pages) seems rushed.
I don't think it's a story that'll stick with me. Mainstream/beach read category to me.

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BookBosomed1
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

4 ⭐️ This is an engrossing novel about the power of the narratives we tell about ourselves & others. The author weaves her own familial history of multiculturalism and “people who do not quite fit into the boxes that others have set up for them…Their difficulties are both universal and specific to the times and places in which they live.” I recommend this book for readers interested in understandings of how our life stories are all interwoven.

30 likes1 comment
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kspenmoll
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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1. Breakfast always!
2.Tagged book I just loved it.
#two4tuesday

Kshakal Good choice on your food related book!! 14mo
JamieArc I just saw that the tagged book is going to be a series. Curious how that will turn out. 14mo
TheSpineView Thanks for playing!💜🍽 14mo
43 likes3 comments
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Susanita
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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1. It‘s hard to choose, but I‘ll say dinner.

2. Tagged book is about the cake … and much more.

#two4tuesday

TheSpineView Awesome!💜🍽 14mo
25 likes1 comment
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NataliePatalie
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Mehso-so

This book has a lot of layers to it, with a lot of different characters, in a lot off different places, in a lot of different time periods. I know it's taboo to say so but it might actually work better on screen lol (upcoming on Hulu, idk when though). Lots of family and generational trauma, but I can't help but feel like some of it could have been avoided if people had just communicated better?!

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LiseWorks
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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kspenmoll Such a good book! 1y
Eggs Pretty cover ❤️🩵💙 1y
20 likes2 comments
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Amie
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

Liked it, didn't love it. Good writing, but maybe it was the two timelines/nonlinear structure or it was just too long that made it a bit of a struggle to finish. Even so, I don't regret reading it.

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NataliePatalie
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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In flight reading 🛩

Blueberry Did you finish? 1y
11 likes2 comments
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Steph.Titus
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
Panpan

#Book.7.2023

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cariashley
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Panpan

Brace for an #unpopularopinion - did not like this one. It wasn‘t a dense read but it felt like a real slog to get through. The narrative flitted over the (many) characters so superficially, it didn‘t feel like any of them were really fleshed out. The plot also took some real sensational turns for apparent shock value, especially near the end. #BOTM

TheLudicReader You are not alone. I didn‘t like it either. 1y
cariashley @TheLudicReader glad it wasn‘t just me. I‘m seeing more mixed reviews now, actually! 1y
44 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Jen2
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

Delightful story

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julieclair
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

Family love, family dynamics, family traditions, family secrets. A complicated story infused with a strong Caribbean vibe. Great reading.
#TitlesAndTunes #IslandVibes #ReadYourTBR

BarbaraBB Such perfect pairing 💛 1y
Cinfhen So agree with your review!!! 1y
julieclair @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Thank you for your nice comments, and a special thank you for hosting such a great event! 📚🎵👍 1y
Cinfhen Glad you‘re enjoying #TitlesAndTunes 😁we are too!!! 1y
27 likes4 comments
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micaelapriestley
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

"You were never just you, and you owed it to the people you cared about to remember that. Because the people you loved were part of your identity, too. Perhaps the biggest part." #junebookclub2023 #book8of24for2023

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bekakins
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Mehso-so

Book club read. This was… ok. Fairly interesting but I never felt properly invested in the characters. I do think it‘ll make for good discussion at book club though! And I want to try some black cake!

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Smlambert725
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson

“Question yourself, yes, but don‘t doubt yourself. There‘s a difference.”
#June2023

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Kshakal
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

How well do we know the stories of our parents?? In this sweeping, multigenerational family saga brother and sister confront what they thought was true about their family and stumble onto a vastly different past.

RebelReader My IRL book group read this last month and we were all very impressed with this debut. 1y
Kshakal @RebelReader I read it for a book club too and am anxious to discuss it! 1y
37 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Becker
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Panpan

I‘m not going to say much because I hate to trash a book, especially when so many other people enjoyed it. But I will say that it was a terrible choice for me. I can hardly believe someone published it. 😵‍💫

Jenken1998 I picked it up and put it down over and over at the bookstore. I left without it. I think I will get it from my library so I don't spend $$ on it. 2y
Becker @Jenken1998 Probably a good idea although I am very much in the minority. I thought it read more like an outline than a finished novel. I hope you enjoy more than I did. 2y
TheLudicReader I also did not enjoy this. It was all tell. 2y
24 likes3 comments
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BookBosomed1
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Sometimes, all I need is reading under the moonlight, sitting by my best buddy, and listening to the wind chimes being tickled by the wind.

BookmarkTavern Oh that sounds delightful! 2y
BookBosomed1 @ozma.of.oz Yes, my peace and calm. 2y
30 likes2 comments
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julieclair
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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This is such a fun idea! My May selections for #TitlesandTunes #IslandVibes are Black Cake and It‘s 5 o‘Clock Somewhere (either version - Jimmy Buffet or Alan Jackson). I don‘t think the book has anything to do with the song, but that song just says “island vacay” to me!
@Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

BarbaraBB I don‘t know the song but I love the title 🍷 2y
Cinfhen Love your choices ♥️😎Both give me #IslandVibes 🌴 🌴 🌴 2y
julieclair @BarbaraBB That‘s one of the things that‘s so fun about this challenge… new tunes! 🎶 I‘m so glad y‘all came up with this fun idea! 👏😀 2y
julieclair @Cinfhen Thanks! This was a perfect prompt to start off with! Who doesn‘t love #IslandVibes?! 🌴🏝️🌴 2y
Cinfhen Agreed!! It‘s the best way to kick off May 🎶🎊 2y
27 likes5 comments
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Donna1980
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Bank holiday weekend sorted. Already half way through Black Cake which I put on my TBR pile a while back after it was recommended by the Obamas. Unfollow is my pick for book club this month, after being challenged to pick a non-fiction book. Have read good reviews so hopefully it doesn‘t disappoint.

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Sydneypaige
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Sometimes I get afraid of intergenerational stories because I‘m worried they‘ll be so heavy and pain filled and not paced well. That was not this. There are painful moments (check CW) but overall this book is skillfully engaging and entertaining as it spans times and perspectives. It‘s the story of children learning who their parents really are through an audio recording and unraveling the untruths, finding their way forward. Beautiful!

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JillR
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

A book I feel I should really have loved, as this is normally my type of book; a family saga spanning years, with mysteries and secrets at its heart only told when Byron and Benny‘s mother dies, leaving them a recording of her life story. Yet something was holding me back from completely falling for it and I‘m not sure why…

TheLudicReader It‘s all tell. That‘s the reason I never succumbed to its potential charms. Too choppy. You never got to settle in with any of the characters, really. That‘s why this book didn‘t really land for me. Impressive debut, though. 2y
46 likes1 comment
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Librarybelle
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

This book is a remarkable debut novel! With short chapters from multiple perspectives and varying timelines, a story about family, love, sacrifice, and secrets emerges. It‘s an unique look at racism in the Caribbean, as well as a raw dive into grief and sorrow for things lost and for the hurdles life places in the way. A five star read for me. #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead #ABookAboutSecrets #52BookClub23

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Sargar114
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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Pickpick

A story of secrets, of identity, of heritage, and of love. Thoroughly enjoyed. Read for #literarycrew

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Librarybelle
Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson
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It is time for this month‘s #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead discussion! I posted 8 questions under the spoiler - you can find these in my feed, the book‘s feed, or searching the hashtags.

Any other thoughts to share? Thanks for joining in for another great month of reading!

Librarybelle If you have not already let me know about next month‘s book and would like me to add you to the tag list, just let me know! 2y
Cinfhen Thanks, Jess 😘 I‘m skipping next month 2y
Librarybelle Sounds good, @Cinfhen ! 2y
See All 17 Comments
mcctrish I got a great deal on next months book, I‘m so happy not to be reading a library book 😂 and having to return it before our chats 2y
AllDebooks I ran out of time to read, avoiding discussion as I really want to read it. 2y
Jerdencon I‘m next on the library list for next months book so hoping it gets here soon. 2y
PurpleyPumpkin Gaahh I‘m about halfway through this month‘s pick! Really enjoying it so far. I‘ll be sure to read the discussions once I finish. 👍🏽 Looking forward to reading next month‘s pick! 2y
Librarybelle So glad you‘ll be joining in next month, @mcctrish @Jerdencon @PurpleyPumpkin ! And for those waiting for the library copy, hope it comes soon! 2y
Librarybelle @AllDebooks @PurpleyPumpkin I‘m avoiding the discussions too as I finish it up! 2y
julieclair I ordered a copy from eBay, hoping it would arrive before I left town for a week. Of course that didn‘t happen. It will be waiting for me when I get home tomorrow. I will join the discussion once I have read it. 2y
SamAnne Sadly wasn‘t able to get this from my library in time… 2y
Librarybelle @julieclair @SamAnne No worries! Feel free to join in whenever you can! 2y
LaraReads I‘m still only halfway through! 🙈 2y
kspenmoll Tough week - sick cat, tendinitis ( me), husband still recovering from surgery, work issues. I will try to catch up. Loved this book! 2y
Librarybelle No worries, @LaraReads ! 2y
Librarybelle Oh no, @kspenmoll ! I hope things get better soon! ❤️ 2y
Julsmarshall I loved it! Took a minute to get into it but the characters and family drama were amazing! It has been on my #TBR for so long, thanks for push to get me to read it :) 2y
51 likes17 comments