A review by katietotallybooked
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The reason I've come to love historical fiction so much is because I love learning about events that have shaped our world's history, and sometimes you come across a historical fiction novel, like Take My Hand, that teaches the reader about events they never knew happened. I was captivated by this fictionalized story loosely inspired by the real life Relf v. Weinberger case in 1973. 
Perkins-Valdez really pulled me in with her captivating characters. I felt so much empathy for India & Erica and their traumatic childhood. I was rooting for Civil on her own personal journey of growth and search for belonging. In my eyes, it was a bonus to the novel to learn about this horrible event in our world's past, because the story about chosen family, love, and identity was enough to capture my attention. 
This is the quote that really brought the book to a five star read for me: "Didn’t she understand that family was so much more than blood? It was shared experience and history and pain. Those girls were as much my family now as they were hers. "
I'd recommend this book to any historical fiction reader, any women, and anyone who wants an emotional story about chosen family and the people who shape our lives. 
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