Oskar and the Eight Blessings by T.R. Simon

Indeed, this is a powerful story that will stick with readers. Simon offers keen insight into how the past affects the present, no matter how many years between them. Simon's writing does elegant justice to the grownup Hurston's genius as a writer as well as to the character she apparently was as a child.

This stunning sequel to Zora and Me is a fictionalized mystery based on Zora Neale Hurston's childhood and includes a biography of Hurston as well as a timeline of her life.

Simon keeps the plot moving briskly and sustains suspense even as she folds in truly profound, timely, and important themes and one of the things Zora and Carrie have learned by book’s end is that “history wasn’t something you read in a book. An extraordinary, richly imagined coming-of-age story about a young Zora Neale Hurston, the long, cruel reach of slavery, and the power of community. The voices of Zora, Carrie, Lucia, and their families and friends make for powerful, unflinching storytelling, worthy to bear the name of a writer Alice Walker called a 'genius' of African-American literature. Whippoorwill Book Award for Rural Y/A Literatureīeautifully written - New York Times Book Review This powerful fictionalized mystery of Zora Neale Hurston’s childhood adventures explores how speaking the secrets of slavery unlocks a future of freedom and truth for everyone.Ģ019 Edgar nominee in the category of Juvenile Mystery

Oskar and the Eight Blessings by T.R. Simon