pickI really enjoyed the story of the North women but I wish we heard more from the matriarch, Hazel and at least a chapter from the youngest (and funniest) member of the family, Mya. Also, can we have a novella about the mysterious neighbor, Miss Dawn?
As you can tell, I got attached to the characters in this book. I hope to meet them again.
Special s/o to Penguin Random House for a copy of the arc and access to the audiobook.
pickGreat read with fantastic characters and a backdrop of serious themes. Really loved it. Finished in one evening I was so engrossed!
I‘m not sure I‘ve ever had a grid where so many books inch there. way into an A status (4.5=A-). Thanks to public libraries for allowing me so much fun! The tagged was an important book for me to read.
5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F
pickThis book wastes no time in tackling tough stuff on the individual, family, and societal levels and never lets up. But it‘s also super readable because of the beautifully drawn characters. I loved their story and thought it flowed really nicely, even as I was sometimes stopped in my tracks by memorable lines like “She wore concern on her face like foundation.” (Also the most moving audiobook acknowledgments section I‘ve ever heard!)
pick#Netgally #ARC #Memphis
This ARC was provided by John Murray Press
In some ways this is a great story of girl power in others it is a painful exploration of race relations in the US from 1943 to 2003.
For a debut novel this one really packs a punch and it does make you think about what it meant and what it still does mean to be a black woman in the US.
Full review here https://thereadersroom.org/2022/05/28/memphis-by-tara-m-stringfellow/
pickThese three generations of women with their lives centered in Douglass, Memphis, Tennessee felt so real to me. Not a spoiler here - I can‘t imagine the dynamics of my family if our patriarch was murdered because his peers believed he had no right to be that peer.
pickFavorite book I‘ve read so far this year. Full stop.
#ThoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94 Thanks for the tag @Enchanted_Bibliophile
💠Memphis by Tara M. Springfellow
💠Audiobook
💠⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tagging @ItsAnotherJen @HOTPock3tt @WorldsOkayestStepMom
💠I do, but not all books.
pickMemphis follows three generations of women in the North family through traumas and joys, building their relationships and community in a way that‘s just so well done. The writing and characters are fantastic and the emotional pacing is so spot-on that it‘s hard to believe this is a debut. I do feel it lost a little strength at the end, but overall, this book is phenomenal!
Celebrated #independentbookstoreday at my happy place and favorite #bookstore @larkandowlbooksellers in Georgetown,Texas.
pickMemphis is an ode to family and to a city. The street names have as much importance as the people who live and love on that street. The streets define what is home for the North sisters. You bounce between multiple generations to gain the full history that gives the women in the North family their gifts. This story celebrates the strength of Black women, the resilience of the Black community, and what family can do when they stand together.
pickThe ending didn‘t quite stick for me but books like this are why I read.
pickThis novel follows three generations of Black women living in a house in Memphis. Tara wrote an amazing debut with compelling characters. Highly recommend!
Hazel‘s husband built the house, and she brought up her daughters, Miriam and August, there. After Hazel dies, Miriam and her two daughters return to the family home where August is living with her troubled son. The story is nonlinear and checks in with each woman at pivotal life moments.
pickUnfolding over 70 years; this is a story about the North women. I absolutely loved this novel. It is beautifully written. It is heartbreaking, but it succeeds in celebrating the beauty, strength and resilience of black women. This is a must read. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
pickPut this one on your tbr!! Publishing date April 4th.
I absolutely loved this novel! It‘s about three generations of women and their lives and hardships in Memphis, Tennessee. Each chapter is a different point in time. The North women are strong and loving and I already miss them. Beautifully written.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.
pickThis was a wonderful novel featuring several strong black female characters, inspired by incidents and people in the author's own life. It is about racism, family, sisters, forgiveness, abuse and strength. The characters were wonderfully developed and I really enjoyed the story. It weaves through many timelines as it reveals the history of the older characters in the story, but it does it very well. I gave it 4.5/5.
pickMemphis pulled my heart from my chest and before replacing it made sure to remind me that a good bit would always belong to my sister. Stringfellow, a poet, has written a devastating debut about the making of Black women, showcasing Black women as the backbone of family and community. As three generations of women make their way through this world Memphis gives us a glimpse of their becoming, with all the love and pain they inherit and inhabit.
Memphis | 
