First published 2006
Eula Too watches her family struggle year after year to move north from the Deep South. She cares for fourteen brothers and sisters while drifting in and out of school. Each generation before her has tried this same journey toward Chicago, but none have completed it. Eula Too decides she will be different. She will be the one to make it all the way. When a new family crisis threatens to crush her completely, she finally breaks free and heads for the city. Chicago promises freedom from the endless cycle of poverty and responsibility that has trapped her family for generations. But the city brings its own harsh realities. Her life becomes harder, not easier. The story moves from the turn of the century Deep South to a modern diverse town where people fight for better lives. Eula Too must discover whether escape means running away or finding strength within herself.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Chicago, Deep South
Period: Turn of the Century, Modern
384 pages · Paperback · Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group