Review by Booklist Review
In 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first Black person to receive an Academy Award for her performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. But far from opening doors for her as an actress, her historic achievement didn't even get her into the after-party at a whites-only nightclub. In the years that followed, white studio executives ignored her requests for more substantial roles, continuing to cast her as a servant. At the same time, McDaniel faced backlash from members of the Black community who felt she wasn't using her position to advance civil rights in the film industry. Tate's (Miss Pearly's Girls, 2022) first historical novel illuminates McDaniel's professional and personal struggles, including marital betrayals and a devastating pregnancy loss. Despite occasional anachronisms and some overly expository prose and dialogue, the novel shines in its portrayal of the movie world and at McDaniel's Sugar Hill home. A must-read for fans of Tate's Jasmine series coauthor Victoria Christopher Murray (The First Ladies, 2023), this novel will also appeal to fans of biographical fiction about strong female characters, including Josephine Baker's Last Dance, by Sherry Jones (2018).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
