The American Daughters

by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

A gripping historical novel about a spirited young girl who joins a sisterhood of Black women working together to undermine the Confederates—from the award-winning author of We Cast a Shadow

The American Daughters follows Ady, a curious, sharp-witted girl who is enslaved alongside her mother, Sanite to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Sanite and her mother Ady are an inseparable duo—taking walks along the river, working together in the fields and spending nights looking up at the stars, dreaming. Ady’s favorite pastime is listening to Sanite's stories of her families' origins, their fierce and rebellious nature, and the everlasting love that strengthens their bond.

When mother and daughter are separated, Ady is left hopeless and unmoored, until she stumbles into the Mockingbird Inn and meets Lenore, a free Black woman with whom she becomes fast friends. Lenore invites Ady to join a clandestine society of spies called The Daughters. With the courage instilled in her by Sanite—and help from these strong women—Ady learns how to choose herself. So begins her journey toward liberation and imagining a new future. The American Daughters is a novel of hope and triumph that reminds us what is possible when a community bands together to fight for their right to live free.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Civil War, Race, Audiobook, African American

304 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2024

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maurice Carlos Ruffin has penned a gripping historical fiction coming-of-age novel about a young girl who joins a sisterhood working to undermine the south before and during the war between the north and south. However, the story line spends a significant portion of it depicting Ady in her childhood. While this helps readers understand Ady, the book synopsis indicated to me that it would mainly be about her activities with the Daughters.

Ady is curious, intelligent, spirited, determined, and brave. She and her mother Sanite have been inseparable until they are split apart by circumstances. The book is mainly from Ady’s point of view and uses terms like “pressed into service” and “labor camps also called plantations.” In other words, Ady and Sanite are not free. Will their journey end in liberation and a new future?
This read was emotional, heartbreaking, and sad, but there were bits of joy along the way. I enjoyed seeing Ady’s growth as events unfolded and she grew older. The beginning and end as well as a few short pages in between are written from the future. Personally, I didn’t feel the epilogue was necessary. I was content for the story to end before it.

It was interesting to learn about the Daughters and their work as spies, insurgents, and heroines; including how they helped the northern soldiers take control of New Orleans. I just wanted more of it. Many threads run throughout the novel including abuse, lack of freedom, torture, hope, sense of community, friendship, family, treatment of women, language and attitudes of the times, and much more.

Overall, this was a gritty and chilling story with compelling characters. The author’s research brought the characters to life and transported me to New Orleans.

Random House Publishing Group – Random House, One World and Maurice Carlos Ruffin provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for February 27, 2024.
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My 3.87 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting a slow moving coming of age story. The description of the book led me to believe that this would be about the American Daughters. They did not show up until the last third of the book. By then, I didn’t care anymore. I wasn’t enjoying this book, and I particularly disliked the narrator of the audiobook, so I gave up. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 3 out of 5]

A character discovers a journal of Ady (Adebimpe), an educated enslaved woman. She takes liberties to publish aspects of the journal which chronicles key segments of Ady’s life from childhood to a life-changing moment where she claims her voice and agency launching her into adulthood and freedom. Through reflections at the beginning and end of the book, we learn that aspects of Ady’s story are believed to be embellished or fabricated which casts doubt on its authenticity. It’s implied that Ady and her mother, Sanite, serve as “unreliable” narrators perhaps to protect themselves and their accomplices.

Their lives are quite adventurous and their stories cover many facets of the enslaved experience – for example, we learn that Sanite was born free into a Maroon community before it was raided; she was a skilled healer and knew about the medicinal properties of plants, using that knowledge for good and nefarious purposes. We’re shown the lack of agency that enslaved women had regarding their bodies or their offspring - the law offered no protection from jealous mistresses or lustful owners. We run away with them toward freedom and marvel at their resourcefulness to fend off patrollers and catchers, that is, until they don’t and suffer the consequences with them. We glimpse the vast difference of life and community in slave labor camps called plantations versus the isolation and loneliness of city life confined to a home with limited and controlled movement. We meet freedmen, Creoles, Indigenous people, immigrants, etc. in the great melting pot of New Orleans.

Although fictional, there are actual historical events and facts referenced in the pages. The Daughters' contributions of sabotage, intelligence-gathering, and subterfuge led to the downfall of the Confederacy, and specifically in this novel, the liberation of New Orleans. There is reference to WEB’s double-consciousness and Zora’s warning that all “skinfolk ain’t kinfolk” because we meet Black slave catchers and duplicitous “co-workers/fellow enslaved” who offer no friendship or comfort only backstabbing and deception at the worst times.

The novel has all the elements to be “great,” but for me, it fell short. I was a bit surprised that we spent so much time with Ady as a child, thus the story reads as a “coming of age” story and essentially ends at the cusp of adulthood. Ady behaves as as the child she is for most of the novel - and we have to suffer through her mistakes of talking too much at the wrong times and not speaking up when she should. We experience Ady’s friendships and romantic relationship and all the complicated emotions and confusions it brings as she grapples with her sexuality. It is nearly half-way through the book before we learn about The Daughters and sadly, they still came off as an afterthought, never becoming the focal point of the story (considering the novel’s title). I really wanted to know more about them and the other characters which intrigued me a lot more than Ady. Granted their true names, fates, and contributions are lost to history, but I was left wanting more about them.

Special thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House, One World and netGalley for an opportunity to review.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author. I picked it up because the description just sounded so interesting I couldn't pass it up.

Description:
A gripping historical novel about a spirited young girl who joins a sisterhood of Black women working together to undermine the Confederates—from the award-winning author of We Cast a Shadow

The American Daughters follows Ady, a curious, sharp-witted girl who is enslaved alongside her mother, Sanite to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Sanite and her mother Ady are an inseparable duo—taking walks along the river, working together in the fields and spending nights looking up at the stars, dreaming. Ady’s favorite pastime is listening to Sanite's stories of her families' origins, their fierce and rebellious nature, and the everlasting love that strengthens their bond.

When mother and daughter are separated, Ady is left hopeless and unmoored, until she stumbles into the Mockingbird Inn and meets Lenore, a free Black woman with whom she becomes fast friends. Lenore invites Ady to join a clandestine society of spies called The Daughters. With the courage instilled in her by Sanite—and help from these strong women—Ady learns how to choose herself. So begins her journey toward liberation and imagining a new future. The American Daughters is a novel of hope and triumph that reminds us what is possible when a community bands together to fight for their right to live free.

My Thoughts:
Both Ady and Sarite's lives were filled with hardship and setbacks. This story is both heartbreaking and filled with hope that things can get better and change will come. The goal of true freedom is worth the fight and this story is focused on the efforts of Ady and the other "Daughters" who are involved in the resistance in New Orleans. There are parts of the book that will make you cry at the injustice and other parts where you will be cheering on the Daughters and rooting for their victory. The time spent with this book was well worth it. The writing is well done and the plot moved at a good pace. I was glued to the pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction. There is a lot of factual basis to this story as well, which makes it even more interesting to me.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication on February 27, 2024.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the second best historical fiction novel I’ve read this year!!! It falls in between The Yellow Wife and The House of Eve for me. The characters were diverse and well developed! The story was incredible and the description for the settings put me in New Orleans. This was my first read by Maurice Ruffin and I cannot wait to read more of his work!

[Heidi Gorecki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book seemed to have very little about the American Daughters, and was instead fully about Ady herself. I think it would have been fine if it was presented that way, but instead felt like it went in a very different direction.

The story was interesting and well told, and I did like the little I did learn about the American Daughters. I just wish there was more of it. I also liked reading about Lenore and the free black Creoles and business owners. It must have been such an odd and conflicting situation for them.

I will say I had a hard time reconciling Ady and Sanite’s boldness without much retaliation based on everything else I’ve read about the dominant and violent treatment of slaves by slave owners when they aren’t completely subservient. And there wasn’t much either when they were caught as runaways, which was typically horrific. It just didn’t feel like it lined up accurately, and made it hard for me to sort of feel invested.

Also, I didn’t understand the constant full phrasing of “slave labor camp also called plantation”. It got a little bizarre that each time it was referenced it was literally the whole phrase rather than just picking an alias and going with it once it was introduced.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. I think Mr. Ruffin is now three for three. As he did in We Cast A Shadow, he writes with a confident witty prose that I find engaging and thusly the pages turn quickly. One salient question I have with every book, is why the title? So, here we don’t get the why of the title until we are at the 70% mark!

“ ‘It’s good to know how someone acts in a truly perilous situation. You can’t be one of the Daughters if you can’t maintain yourself.” “Daughters?” Ady said. “Nah,” Tremaine said “The Daughters.’ “

Not a great big deal, but enough to make you wonder what other titles were bandied about. The setup here is we are reading the confessions of Ady, who left a journal of her life circumstances that was later found and novelized. It was embellished, heavily? That question lingers over the novel as we marvel at Ady’s resilience, intelligence, bravery, mettle and determination to survive.

This story of Ady growing up under the foot of enslavement forms the bulk of the novel, and what a journey it is. Ady is tethered to her mother Sanite, who was quite an amazing woman, and never let herself or Ady be diminished by this slavery business that America still has not come to terms with. And in a bit of historical truth hidden by fiction, The American Daughters are representative of a group that tried in various covert ways to undermine and destroy the sordid slavery business. These things are not generally avowed in history books, for obvious reasons, but often are referred to in good historical fiction even if the “historical” is not the genre of the novel. So kudos to Mr. Ruffin for including such treats and treasures and yay, perhaps that’s the reason they, The American Daughters are worthy of a book title!

I just gave myself a ✋🏾 high five. I initially was questioning the title throughout my reading and even in the beginning of this review, but as I was writing it just dawned on me, the title is appropriate and fitting after all!! Thanks to Oneworld books and Netgalley for an advanced DRC, book drops 2/27/24

[Hillary Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and LOVED it. The beginning of the book introduces the curious, determined and intellectual MC, Ady. She had a close and loving relationship with her mother, Sanite; their connection was beautiful, and they were inseparable. Sanite was a strong-willed woman who longed to be free.

The book takes place in New Orleans right before the civil war breaks out. The author did a fantastic job with the book's setting, transporting me back to the time period of the Civil War. Ady and Sanite are sold to a ugly, horrible man. They end up running away to escape the horrors of slavery and the suffering of living under their owner. But unfortunately, they are captured and separated. During their separation, Ady must learn how to survive independently. She does so remembering everything her mother taught her.

Ady meets a freedwoman, Lenore, who introduces her to the secret circle of spies whose primary goal is to undermine the Confederates. Once they meet, their connection is fire 🔥 they will do anything for each other and care deeply about one another’s safety. I loved reading about the spies and how Black enslaved and freed women worked together to help those who were enslaved.

The American Daughters is kind of a slow-paced book; however, the plot and the characters keep you invested in the story. The way the author writes this book is so captivating; this book is definitely a page-turner. The ending and the epilogue were PHENOMENAL. It's probably one of the best epilogues I’ve ever read.

The American Daughters is definitely one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read. Already wishing I could read it again for the first time 💕

[Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
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I struggled to get into The American Daughters. The pacing is uneven, being extremely slow in some segments, and way too fast in others (particularly the ending). Ady is a solid main character, but the side characters are not too compelling. In particular, I was underwhelmed by the romance between Ady and Lenore. While sweet, it feels like it comes out of nowhere.

I'm fascinated by Ruffin's previews of the future, with Ady's descendants, but I feel that he didn't play into them enough. They were by far the most interesting parts of the novel, and I wish I could have seen more of those narratives.

[Teresa]

For me, Ruffin’s first book, We Cast a Shadow, was a mixture of Jonathan Swift, A Confederacy of Dunces and [see the spoiler in the comments at my review of We Cast a Shadow]; by Ruffin’s own admission, Nabokov’s Lolita was an inspiration. His second novel seems to be inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale, and not necessarily because of their shared themes of patriarchy and women’s lack of bodily autonomy. I haven’t read any reviews yet and it’ll be interesting to see what others think

I thought of the Atwood when the main historical fiction section (‘historical fantasy’ a la Lauren Groff’s Matrix?) is first interrupted by one of the short passages set in the future. The writing attributed to these later time periods complicates, embellishes, and enhances the main narrative, mostly set in New Orleans near the end of the Civil War. The longer epilogue, a big part of the whole story, confirmed the Atwood connection for me. More importantly, the epilogue brings in necessary ideas about the way history is written and unwritten.

I loved the prose in the beginning of the novel; it’s brilliant and beautiful. And my favorite part of the main narrative is the repetition of a certain descriptive phrase emphasizing the reality behind the façade of so-called plantations.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ady grows up under the scourge of slavery with a more than usual sense of purpose and with the benefit of more education than the law allows. The group of women she joins referenced in the title apparently really existed, were instrumental in the downfall of the Confederacy, in New Orleans in particular. Although I didn't find this as original as Maurice Carlos Ruffin's previous two books, We Cast a Shadow in particular, it was beautifully written. My quibble is that there was such a long buildup to the events that made these American Daughters so special, their bond so important. Early pages of the book contain all the outrage and helplessness expected from books on this devastating subject.

[Glenda Nelms · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Freedom meant precisely this: the ability to use one’s legs to carry oneself where one chose.”

The American Daughters is a heartfelt and gripping historical fiction novel about a spirited young girl who joins a sisterhood of Black women working together to undermine the Confederates. mother and daughter Sanite and Ady who are enslaved to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The American Daughters are representative of a group that tried in various covert ways to undermine and destroy the sordid slavery business. When Ady and Sanite are separated, Ady is lost after her separation from her mother, she meets a freedwoman, Lenore, who introduces her to the secret circle of spies whose primary goal is to undermine the Confederates. It's about hope, strength and bravery

[Anabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this but unfortunately the description is just not very accurate to the actual content of the book. About half way in I wanted to DNF but I ended up finishing it and kinda wish I didn’t. Not only is the bulk of the story not as interesting as the description :( But the ending completely ruined it for me. Just confusing and unnecessary, like I’m so confused by what that even was. Anyways, I wish I could have read a book on this subject with a more focused plot.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid historical fiction debut set in the American South during the height of slavery featuring a mother and daughter and their journey from different plantations. Moving and heartfelt, this was also good on audio. Recommended for fans of books like Conjury women by Afia Atakora.

[The Aspie Author · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the great things about this book is that it doesn't sugarcoat the Antebellum South. This novel exposes the abuse enslaved women went through instead of romanticizing it, as they did in that show about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings in the 2000s.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the characters and the premise of this book, but a little disappointed in the execution.

As this book opens, Ady is an enslaved girl in the ante-bellum and early Civil War years in Louisiana. Ady and her mother Sanite are sold to John du Marche, who sexually abuses Sanite and sells her baby son. Ady and Sanite briefly escape, which gives Sanite an opportunity to teach Ady not only how to live in the wild but what self-determination and self-sufficiency feel like. Soon after they are recaptured, Sanite dies. It is strongly hinted, but never graphically presented, that du Marche then turns his sexual attentions to Ady. Interesting choice by the author to merely hint at that. I think he's saying that it's not important to who Ady really is.

du Marche does permit Ady quite a bit of freedom of movement within New Orleans, and she meets Lenore, the free Creole owner of an inn and tavern, the Mockingbird. The Mockingbird is also the hub of a ring of Black female spies and saboteurs called the American Daughters. As the Civil War breaks out and du Marche is central to the Confederate effort to defend New Orleans, Ady and Lenore take some very costly risks.

But the really neat trick in this book is that the story of the American Daughters is a novel within a novel. The meta-novel is about how the story was written, who wrote it, who changed it, and how it should be interpreted. I loved this idea, but I felt that it wasn't very well-executed. The reader receives only cryptic hints to this premise, until the epilogue. And then the epilogue was really confusing, and didn't seem to tie very well to anything that we'd read in the previous 270 pages. I wish that part had been done better.

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[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I was expecting from the book is something I didn’t get I thought it was mainly going to be her meeting the two girls but it seems that is left for the last few chapters not to mention most of the book the way it is written seems unbelievable I did feel for Addie coming to grips with what her mother had to do with their owner while living in the French quarter. Had I known it was a story of growing up or a coming-of-age type story I would’ve gave it a pass. I was really looking forward to this book but sadly didn’t find much enjoyed about it not that one can enjoy a book about such horrible happenings but I’m sure you get my meaning. I want to thank Random House Annette galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Jayne Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I've never read historical fiction that's set in New Orleans in the time just before the Civil War, and I learned quite a bit about the city. The main character, Ady, is amazing-so clever and unafraid. Her friendship with Lenore, who is regal and emotive, is at the heart of the book. The story is full of brave, heroic women, and the writing is fantastic. The author wrote fully formed characters and yet you can tell, somehow, that there are hidden and mysterious aspects of them that we aren't meant to know. There is so much untold history about women, and this book tells us about another piece of it.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not say this lightly. Five stars. A story within a story. Seamless writing and hardly any fat. This could have been a more painful read but Ruffin does a great and intentional job of not being gratuitous. I was on the edge of my seat in some scenes and had to fight the urge to skip to the end. I am usually "eh" on epilogues but this one gagged me a little.
So yes, five stars. Definitely recommend.

[McKenzie Rakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

In THE AMERICAN DAUGHTERS, we follow Ady, a young and sharp girl enslaved alongside her mother in New Orleans. We watch as she comes of age amidst immense trauma and obstacles, yet with a solid footing in her knowledge of her worth and true self. As the story unfolds, Ady develops friendships with free Black women and works to dismantle the Confederates from the inside out.

Ady and Sanite, her mother, were great main characters to spend a novel with. Both were independent in spirit and willful. This was a coming-of-age story as we watched Ady suffer through physical hardship, the loss of family, and enslavement. The author kept the majority of the violence off the page, which I appreciated. It felt like his focus was more so on Ady and her discovery of self, rather than on recreating the trauma she endured.

Where I think this book suffers is in the marketing. The summary covers about 90% of the plot, and we don't even see Ady meet up with The Daughters until about 60-70% of the way through. That's going to set up the expectation that this will be a thrilling spy novel full of action and intrigue, but it simply isn't that. Go in knowing this is more of a slower-paced, coming-of-age historical fiction novel and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Lastly, I have to add that I found the epilogue to be incredibly bazaar and unnecessary. It was a complete change in genre that's worth skipping.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The American Daughters" by Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the compelling story of Ady, an enslaved person, as she grows from young girl to woman in the Antebellum South. It is both heartbreaking and hopeful, and I really enjoyed all of the strong women characters who endured unspeakable trauma and whose bravery and fortitude helped to change history. The writing is good and the characters came alive enough for me to feel both their pain and their happiness. The author definitely did his research to make the story realistic. I was thoroughly riveted at parts. especially those involving the female spy ring called The Daughters (and, to be honest, I wish more of the book had focused on them). Ady is definitely a character I will not soon forget.

This was a five star read to me until I got to the epilogue, where, for me, the book went off the rails. It fast forwards the reader to the future and I found it to be truly bizarre and unnecessary. I thought it was a very strange way to end this historical fiction novel and it didn't really work for me at all.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just happened to stumble across this book at the library while waiting in line, and it interested me first when I saw the cover. Then when I read the book jacket, I knew I'd most likely enjoy it and I did. No surprise! I've always been interested in black history and this book was just different than most that I've read.

Ady is a young black girl and her mother is Sanite. Sadly, they were sold at an auction but they were sold together to John du Marche, Vice Mayor of New Orleans. He ran a labor camp, but he wanted Sanite and Ady to work in his house. Even then, the working conditions were atrocious and their living conditions were even worse. Unfortunately, they get separated and Ady meets a young black free woman named Lenore. (Note: My mom's name just happens to have been Lenore.) That changed Ady in many ways as she, obviously, wanted a life of freedom, too.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing book by Maurice Ruffin was really incredible. He had me at the first paragraph! Andy and her mom, Sanite, were icons. Strong women, independent thinkers who were both stuck in a horrific time in this nations history. Slavery is a blight on American History!! I love how Mr. Ruffin described Lenore, Ady and all the American Daughters. I would like to believe there truly were heroic women like them in our history. I loved this book! Thank you to Mr. Ruffin, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Publishing for the arc!!
Highly recommended reading!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could be a great story, but it just wasn’t. The author tells the reader things rather than shows us, which made me just not feel anything for the characters. And these characters are ones I really should have felt something for because of their circumstances and determination. The dialogue was stilted and not believable.

[Dana K · Rating 3 out of 5]

{3.5 stars}

Ady is a young enslaved girl who is living with her mother in New Orleans. They suffer under the eye of their owner but have each other, until they don’t. Ady is still young when this happens and she must find ways to cope. In a city where free Blacks live amongst the enslaved, Ady finds hope and a way to make her life mean something.

This book definitely has a very slow pace. You don’t even learn what the American Daughters is until you’re 70% through. Then suddenly she is in the deep end and an expert at so many things. I wish we had been given a little more in that build up and a little less on all the years prior. Don’t get me wrong, Ady’s upbringing and her relationship with her mother were important and impactful and a book in themselves. But the thing IS called The American Daughters. The end is great and worth it but I now feel like I want to read a book about more of what The American Daughters did.

Read this one if you liked Yellow Wife.

Thanks to One World for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

[Thomas Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book the way an average shopper picks out a wine bottle at Trader Joe’s, by the flashy label and wondering if the contents within matched the flair of what was seen on the outside. It was in a small independent bookstore in Portland Maine and the cover looked interesting enough, the book jacket summary was intriguing, and the praise on the back was encouraging. But ultimately? This book was the bad wine covered up by a flashy bottle.

The advertised plot of this book is around a spy ring of free people of color and enslaved people alike, wrecking havoc in the early days of the confederacy. The thing is that this plot doesn’t start until 3/4 in, giving you 200 pages of slow burn backstory before giving you a peek into the spy story. And that doesn’t last very long either.

This could have been a very good book, if advertised differently. It was a slow burn, coming of age story in the antebellum period, focusing on two enslaved women, a mother and daughter, as they experience all the emotions that come with that perilous experience. But what I read was a bunch of half formed ideas, plot lines that went nowhere, and weak supporting characters that seem like they were there to check a box. The jumping around in past, present, and future was also confusing and unnecessary. By the time I got 2 pages into the epilogue, I wanted to throw it across the room, but it’s from the library and I respect library books.

The positives of this book are that it is very well written; it is descriptive in a way that allows the reader to visualize where the characters are. The other highlight is the consistency in using modern language that is more empathetic to the experience of people of color. The author uses terms like enslaved people rather than slaves, and refers to the places where enslaved people worked as forced labor camps “also known as plantations.”

There are better historical fiction novels written about this period, so “The American Daughters” can be skipped. It’s a 5 dollar wine in a $50 bottle.

[Another Read by Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Praise for The American Daughters!

This was a raw, emotional gripping read and if you are a fan of historical fiction then add this to your TBR and make it a priority.

" All this air to roam where we please .This is just the start. It had never occurred to Ady that freedom meant precisely this: the ability to use one's legs to carry oneself where one chose "

The American Daughters is a coming of age story of bravery , strength and hope. We read about Ady and her enslavement through her journals and how her harrowing path led her to "The Daughters" where a group of rebels unite together to form an alliance for freedom putting themselves on the line.

The American Daughters had loveable characters with great character development and will pull at your heart strings .

My only criticisms were that the first 30 pages for me were hard to get through , they felt blocky to me and that the story ended a little to quickly for me . However I was so invested and determined to follow Ady and make sure she made it to safety , and it is hard to believe that this story fiction as the author is an exemplary story teller and I was enamored by the woman in this story .

I thank Netgalley , Random House Publishing Group and Maurice Carlos Ruffin for this remarkable and courageous read!

[Fig · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was 5 stars for me up until the epilogue, which i’ll be honest, i just did not get - the rest of the story was such a compelling piece of historical fiction so i wasn’t entirely sure why the epilogue went in the specific direction it did but hey that’s alright! the rest of the story in its main entirety was so phenomenally told! i think we often discount the role of geography in the slave trade, and how central the city of new orleans was to the entire operation; both as a large city in the US south and as the northernmost port of the caribbean, making it a key place for groups like the american daughters to be able to source and spread information and resources. this book frequently dropped place names that still exist down here in new orleans, which absolutely helped to visualize not just the setting of the story, but the potential network of the american daughters as a whole.

[Erin Holt | Dear Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

What even was this? Not a book about the American Daughters, I can say that, since they are only a part of the end of the book. And since the summary (and title!) make this seem like a book featuring this as the plot, it’s very confusing. I wished I DNFd this, but since it was the first book of 2025, I powered through but now know it was a waste of my time. The pacing is inconsistent, slow in the middle, fast at the end (and what was that ending??), a romance that doesn’t seem to fit into the story at all, and I didn’t find the characters interesting at all. It’s too bad, what an interesting part of history to write about but a lost opportunity.