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Good Dirt
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2025)Brought to you by Penguin.
When Ebby Freeman travels to France to take a three-month hiatus from her complicated home life, the last person she expects to find is her ex-fiancé Henry, with his new girlfriend in tow.
Nearly twenty years earlier, the Freemans were the only African American family living in a wealthy coastal enclave in Connecticut when armed robbers invaded their family home and tragedy changed their lives forever.
Then, just as Ebby thought she had a new chance at happiness, her storybook romance with Henry fell apart.
Now, this unexpected encounter with Henry will force Ebby to reckon with her past and to think on the other loss her family suffered that day – the destruction of a beloved stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved ancestor and passed down through the generations. A piece that might hold not only her family history, but also the key to reclaiming her future.
When Ebby Freeman travels to France to take a three-month hiatus from her complicated home life, the last person she expects to find is her ex-fiancé Henry, with his new girlfriend in tow.
Nearly twenty years earlier, the Freemans were the only African American family living in a wealthy coastal enclave in Connecticut when armed robbers invaded their family home and tragedy changed their lives forever.
Then, just as Ebby thought she had a new chance at happiness, her storybook romance with Henry fell apart.
Now, this unexpected encounter with Henry will force Ebby to reckon with her past and to think on the other loss her family suffered that day – the destruction of a beloved stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved ancestor and passed down through the generations. A piece that might hold not only her family history, but also the key to reclaiming her future.
Audible Audio
First published January 28, 2025
3707 people are currently reading
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About the author
Charmaine Wilkerson
9 books3,276 followersCharmaine Wilkerson is an American writer who has lived in the Caribbean and is based in Italy. She is a former journalist and recovered marathon runner whose award-winning short stories can be found in various UK and US anthologies and magazines. Black Cake (2022) was her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 6,995 reviews
November 28, 2025
Sigh… I hate to say it, but this book was a disappointing 2-star read. As some of you know, Black Cake was my favorite book of 2022, so naturally, I was thrilled when I saw Wilkerson had another release. Unfortunately, sophomore novels are tough—and this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
My biggest issue was the overreliance on miscommunication and the so-called “secrets” each family member was hiding. When these were eventually revealed, they felt underwhelming and inconsequential. On top of that, the story had far too many POVs, making it difficult to stay invested. By the time it came to tie up the loose ends, so much was left unresolved that it felt frustrating rather than satisfying.
The past POVs, which arguably held the most weight in the story, were also incredibly difficult to follow. That was a major problem since they were supposed to ground the narrative. The only character I truly liked was Avery—they did no wrong in my eyes. On the other hand, Henry got wayyyyyyyyy too much time in the spotlight. I couldn’t stand him and found his arc exhausting.
I do wonder if this might have been a better experience with a physical read rather than the audiobook, but either way, I’m left feeling disappointed.
finally made a video and some of your thoughts made it in ! i can’t believe this was a nominee for readers favorite historical fiction 🫨
https://youtu.be/xbGvHZIz4LM?si=6Antm...
My biggest issue was the overreliance on miscommunication and the so-called “secrets” each family member was hiding. When these were eventually revealed, they felt underwhelming and inconsequential. On top of that, the story had far too many POVs, making it difficult to stay invested. By the time it came to tie up the loose ends, so much was left unresolved that it felt frustrating rather than satisfying.
The past POVs, which arguably held the most weight in the story, were also incredibly difficult to follow. That was a major problem since they were supposed to ground the narrative. The only character I truly liked was Avery—they did no wrong in my eyes. On the other hand, Henry got wayyyyyyyyy too much time in the spotlight. I couldn’t stand him and found his arc exhausting.
I do wonder if this might have been a better experience with a physical read rather than the audiobook, but either way, I’m left feeling disappointed.
finally made a video and some of your thoughts made it in ! i can’t believe this was a nominee for readers favorite historical fiction 🫨
https://youtu.be/xbGvHZIz4LM?si=6Antm...
September 26, 2025
it is truly unfortunate that everyone on earth is mad at me for the half-hearted joke i made about the cover of this book, because i liked it so much.
while i love generational family sagas, i usually prefer that they follow time linearly — there's something about alternating perspectives that just grinds my gears.
but this worked perfectly. i loved reading about ebby and her parents, and their ancestors, and everyone in between, and their feelings were real and disparate enough that i never struggled to place myself.
the only thing i would have changed is the nancy drew-esque descriptions. those of you familiar with the girl detective will know that every single book includes the same descriptions of our protagonist's platinum hair, and her friend's round cheeks, and her boyfriend's physique, and so on. you will find that same style here.
but that is just nothing compared to what a sweeping, enlightening tale of familial highs and lows this was. i should know that these are fictional characters, but i'm wanting the best for ebby and soh and ed anyway.
bottom line: can't we all just get along and agree that this book is good?
---------------------
tbr review
i should've gone to school for Blobs Of Color Cover Design
(this is just a joke. a lot of books look like this at the moment. i don't mind and i'm excited to be reading this. we're all going to be okay)
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
while i love generational family sagas, i usually prefer that they follow time linearly — there's something about alternating perspectives that just grinds my gears.
but this worked perfectly. i loved reading about ebby and her parents, and their ancestors, and everyone in between, and their feelings were real and disparate enough that i never struggled to place myself.
the only thing i would have changed is the nancy drew-esque descriptions. those of you familiar with the girl detective will know that every single book includes the same descriptions of our protagonist's platinum hair, and her friend's round cheeks, and her boyfriend's physique, and so on. you will find that same style here.
but that is just nothing compared to what a sweeping, enlightening tale of familial highs and lows this was. i should know that these are fictional characters, but i'm wanting the best for ebby and soh and ed anyway.
bottom line: can't we all just get along and agree that this book is good?
---------------------
tbr review
i should've gone to school for Blobs Of Color Cover Design
(this is just a joke. a lot of books look like this at the moment. i don't mind and i'm excited to be reading this. we're all going to be okay)
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
May 25, 2025
A tragedy reshapes the Freeman family's history, influencing their paths with the resulting perceptions, traumas, resentments, and redemptions that define their future.
Ten-year-old Ebby Freeman only wanted to play hide and seek one last time with her brother, even though they were in a hurry to leave the house. Her brother Baz never denied her request. From her hiding spot, she overheard two masked men threatening her brother, followed by a gunshot that froze time. Ebby remained still for a few moments before rushing to her father's study, where she found the family's ancient heirloom stoneware jar broken. The thieves, who sought to steal the jar, killed her brother, who bravely tried to protect it. Feeling as though they had taken everything from her family, she couldn't bring herself to tell the officers the thieves' motives and blamed herself for keeping her brother in the house during the home invasion.
Nearly two decades later, Ebby faces another tragedy when her white, privileged fiancé abandons her at the altar without explanation, thrusting her back into the spotlight for her perceived bad luck, much like when she survived the home invasion that took her father away for years.
Each family member copes with grief in their way. Her mother, Soh, becomes overly protective of Ebby, while her father grows more silent, taking more business trips and spending hours in the basement. Ebby keeps up appearances by excelling academically and honing her writing skills. After her fiancé's humiliation, she decides to escape her PTSD and night terrors by accepting an offer to watch over a friend's rental estate in France.
However, her time in France, nine months after her breakup, doesn't bring the closure she hoped for. Instead, she finds the estate rented by Henry and his new attorney girlfriend, Avery, leading to an unexpected confrontation. Ebby is forced to face her unresolved issues and listen to Henry's reasons for their breakup, all while being drawn to another man she never expected to meet. A new tragedy compels her to team up with an unlikely ally.
Ebby also connects with her ancestors' stories, learning about the nineteenth-century heirloom stoneware jar passed down for six generations. The jar's history includes Edward "Willis" Freeman, her great-great-grandfather, who escaped slavery by stowing away on a ship from South Carolina to Massachusetts. The narrative delves into the lives of Old Mo, Betsey, and Willis' wife Aquinnah, highlighting their sacrifices and the jar's role in aiding others escaping slavery.
The past and present intertwine through multiple perspectives, offering heart-wrenching yet hopeful stories that envision a brighter, more open-minded, and peaceful future.
This book beautifully explores grief, trauma, mental health, ancestry, racism, bravery, inheritance, and the importance of respecting history to shape one's present and future. I enjoyed "Good Dirt" as much as "Black Cake" and highly recommend it to fans of inspirational historical fiction and the author's previous work.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for sharing this epic historical fiction's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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Ten-year-old Ebby Freeman only wanted to play hide and seek one last time with her brother, even though they were in a hurry to leave the house. Her brother Baz never denied her request. From her hiding spot, she overheard two masked men threatening her brother, followed by a gunshot that froze time. Ebby remained still for a few moments before rushing to her father's study, where she found the family's ancient heirloom stoneware jar broken. The thieves, who sought to steal the jar, killed her brother, who bravely tried to protect it. Feeling as though they had taken everything from her family, she couldn't bring herself to tell the officers the thieves' motives and blamed herself for keeping her brother in the house during the home invasion.
Nearly two decades later, Ebby faces another tragedy when her white, privileged fiancé abandons her at the altar without explanation, thrusting her back into the spotlight for her perceived bad luck, much like when she survived the home invasion that took her father away for years.
Each family member copes with grief in their way. Her mother, Soh, becomes overly protective of Ebby, while her father grows more silent, taking more business trips and spending hours in the basement. Ebby keeps up appearances by excelling academically and honing her writing skills. After her fiancé's humiliation, she decides to escape her PTSD and night terrors by accepting an offer to watch over a friend's rental estate in France.
However, her time in France, nine months after her breakup, doesn't bring the closure she hoped for. Instead, she finds the estate rented by Henry and his new attorney girlfriend, Avery, leading to an unexpected confrontation. Ebby is forced to face her unresolved issues and listen to Henry's reasons for their breakup, all while being drawn to another man she never expected to meet. A new tragedy compels her to team up with an unlikely ally.
Ebby also connects with her ancestors' stories, learning about the nineteenth-century heirloom stoneware jar passed down for six generations. The jar's history includes Edward "Willis" Freeman, her great-great-grandfather, who escaped slavery by stowing away on a ship from South Carolina to Massachusetts. The narrative delves into the lives of Old Mo, Betsey, and Willis' wife Aquinnah, highlighting their sacrifices and the jar's role in aiding others escaping slavery.
The past and present intertwine through multiple perspectives, offering heart-wrenching yet hopeful stories that envision a brighter, more open-minded, and peaceful future.
This book beautifully explores grief, trauma, mental health, ancestry, racism, bravery, inheritance, and the importance of respecting history to shape one's present and future. I enjoyed "Good Dirt" as much as "Black Cake" and highly recommend it to fans of inspirational historical fiction and the author's previous work.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for sharing this epic historical fiction's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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May 28, 2025
Charmaine Wilkerson is an author whose prose grabs you with one hand by the heart and the other by the throat and holds you to the pages until the very last word, unable to divert your attention and completely enthralled. Good Dirt, the authors second novel, is a heartwrenching exploration of history and legacy, from family lineage and the Black community in context of American history to the way an single object passed down for generations can make the small and individual scale symbolic of a greater universal. Continuing her rapid-fire style of staccato chapters and a slowburn reveal of the mysteries that made Black Cake such an engaging read, Good Dirt tells the story of Ebby Freeman as her life splinters towards the horizon like the clay jar family heirloom that shattered during the murder of her brother when Ebby was 10 years old. Wilkerson deftly weaves a tale of grief, family, love and life through a chorus of voices that had me fully immersed in the saga of the Freeman family with my heart alight in all the emotional complexity and intensity that makes Good Dirt a damn good book.
‘The heart of a person, even in troubled times, is a hopeful place.’
While I found Good Dirt to be a bit cluttered compared to its predecessor novel, with a lot of moving pieces and threads tumbling through the narrative that occasionally feels like it is withholding information instead of releasing a steady drip of reveals. Yet this is hardly a criticism because Good Dirt tackles a much larger historical context and Wilkerson navigates it with such grace and attention to nuance. Like a needle threading the narrative is “Old Mo,” the family heirloom of a clay pot that has survived since the slavery era in the American South. With hidden messages inscribed on the jar inspiring Ebby’s ancestor Edward “Willis” Freeman, he brings the jar with him on his escape to freedom. It is from Mo that Ebby finds comfort in the stories of the past and the family legacy, it is a reminder that ‘good could come of bad, that comfort could follow strife, that looking at their past could help to guide their future.’
Yet the destruction of the jar triggers a feeling of a destruction of family and the link to the past and the murder of the brother thrusts Ebby into an uncomfortable spotlight as ‘the little Black girl who had survived a suburban tragedy’ when her photo becomes well known worldwide. Set to marry a white ‘rising young star of an old banking family,’ Ebby hopes to put the past behind her and reach for brighter futures. Yet a very public breakup only confirms to her that she ‘could not escape the mantle of misfortune that had settled over her.’ How to repair a life, how to repair grief, how to solve a decades old murder all become questions spiralling through the book.
‘Love leaves a memory in the heart even when your head tells you it shouldn’t.’
The move through past and present is quite well orchestrated here, particularly as it sashays between a cavalcade of voices. Yet this style isn’t just to keep things fresh and has a rather important message about the necessity for multiple perspectives, especially on the past.
Wilkerson employs a long history of Black Americans in the struggles for freedom as well as the struggles in the present while looking at lesser known tales in history. ‘The mass production of pottery in the American South,’ Wilkerson tells us, ‘regularly relied on both enslaved and free Black people,’ making the story of Old Mo even more apt for the narrative. It is a well researched novel and truly shines for it.
Good Dirt may center its focus around a cold case murder, yet it stretches its arms and heart around a wide range of themes on love, loss, and finding yourself amidst it all. Written with such elegance while being so engaging it is nearly impossible to set down, this is a book that tackles a lot of big issues in succinct ways. It would be ideal for a book club, or just on your own and I highly recommend it.
4.5/5
‘To those whose stories are written in our hearts.’
‘The heart of a person, even in troubled times, is a hopeful place.’
While I found Good Dirt to be a bit cluttered compared to its predecessor novel, with a lot of moving pieces and threads tumbling through the narrative that occasionally feels like it is withholding information instead of releasing a steady drip of reveals. Yet this is hardly a criticism because Good Dirt tackles a much larger historical context and Wilkerson navigates it with such grace and attention to nuance. Like a needle threading the narrative is “Old Mo,” the family heirloom of a clay pot that has survived since the slavery era in the American South. With hidden messages inscribed on the jar inspiring Ebby’s ancestor Edward “Willis” Freeman, he brings the jar with him on his escape to freedom. It is from Mo that Ebby finds comfort in the stories of the past and the family legacy, it is a reminder that ‘good could come of bad, that comfort could follow strife, that looking at their past could help to guide their future.’
Yet the destruction of the jar triggers a feeling of a destruction of family and the link to the past and the murder of the brother thrusts Ebby into an uncomfortable spotlight as ‘the little Black girl who had survived a suburban tragedy’ when her photo becomes well known worldwide. Set to marry a white ‘rising young star of an old banking family,’ Ebby hopes to put the past behind her and reach for brighter futures. Yet a very public breakup only confirms to her that she ‘could not escape the mantle of misfortune that had settled over her.’ How to repair a life, how to repair grief, how to solve a decades old murder all become questions spiralling through the book.
‘Love leaves a memory in the heart even when your head tells you it shouldn’t.’
The move through past and present is quite well orchestrated here, particularly as it sashays between a cavalcade of voices. Yet this style isn’t just to keep things fresh and has a rather important message about the necessity for multiple perspectives, especially on the past.
‘History, too often, has been told from only certain perspectives. This is not good enough. History is a collective phenomenon. It can only be told through a chorus of voices. And that chorus must make room for new voices over time.’
Wilkerson employs a long history of Black Americans in the struggles for freedom as well as the struggles in the present while looking at lesser known tales in history. ‘The mass production of pottery in the American South,’ Wilkerson tells us, ‘regularly relied on both enslaved and free Black people,’ making the story of Old Mo even more apt for the narrative. It is a well researched novel and truly shines for it.
Good Dirt may center its focus around a cold case murder, yet it stretches its arms and heart around a wide range of themes on love, loss, and finding yourself amidst it all. Written with such elegance while being so engaging it is nearly impossible to set down, this is a book that tackles a lot of big issues in succinct ways. It would be ideal for a book club, or just on your own and I highly recommend it.
4.5/5
‘To those whose stories are written in our hearts.’
February 5, 2025
i enjoyed this so much—the author sure knows how to craft a captivating family drama 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
read if you like: generational stories, genre bending stories, multiple POVs and timelines, family drama, quick reads, books that grab you right away
i also highly recommend this audiobook! the narrator was new to me but i will 1000000% be looking into other work of hers, i was captivated from the start 🎧
i liked so much about this book, especially in the first half! it grabs you right away—you have a tragic family event that is very mysterious and kicks things off right. you have a family heirloom that has a history much more complex than you can imagine. you have an interesting love story that makes you scratch your head. you have family members holding secrets from one another. and you have a potential murder mystery 👀👀👀 see what i mean?!
the book did have a ton of POVs and jumped around timelines a lot, so you really have to be paying attention esp on audio or you will get confused quickly.
selfishly, i wanted the book to go another way once we hit a “twist” at about the halfway mark (when in France…iykyk). I thought it would have made the backhalf much more interesting as the back fizzled out a bit for me. the front half had so much action and plot so i was left craving that as we finished!
all in all, such a good read. i loved BLACK CAKE and i was so excited for her 2025 release. certainly worth the grab!!!
thanks to Libro FM for the gifted ALC 🎧❤️ this book was so pretty i bought a copy for my shelves!
read if you like: generational stories, genre bending stories, multiple POVs and timelines, family drama, quick reads, books that grab you right away
i also highly recommend this audiobook! the narrator was new to me but i will 1000000% be looking into other work of hers, i was captivated from the start 🎧
i liked so much about this book, especially in the first half! it grabs you right away—you have a tragic family event that is very mysterious and kicks things off right. you have a family heirloom that has a history much more complex than you can imagine. you have an interesting love story that makes you scratch your head. you have family members holding secrets from one another. and you have a potential murder mystery 👀👀👀 see what i mean?!
the book did have a ton of POVs and jumped around timelines a lot, so you really have to be paying attention esp on audio or you will get confused quickly.
selfishly, i wanted the book to go another way once we hit a “twist” at about the halfway mark (when in France…iykyk). I thought it would have made the backhalf much more interesting as the back fizzled out a bit for me. the front half had so much action and plot so i was left craving that as we finished!
all in all, such a good read. i loved BLACK CAKE and i was so excited for her 2025 release. certainly worth the grab!!!
thanks to Libro FM for the gifted ALC 🎧❤️ this book was so pretty i bought a copy for my shelves!
April 1, 2025
I have rated every historical fiction I’ve ever read a 5. Am I an undercover historical fiction girlie?????? OMG??? Loved this, learned a lot, love Ebby🫶🏾
January 18, 2025
Unfortunately, I don’t think Charmaine Wilkerson’s writing style is for me. One thing I absolutely loathe, is being pulled away from an immersive narrative to hear a story I couldn’t care less about. She does just that! She tells so many stories in one book, which for me, feels a bit distracting and overwhelming.
Nonetheless, I think she’s a great story teller and there were many parts of the book I enjoyed. I loved following the storyline with Ebby and Henry. It was my favorite storyline in the book. My second favorite was following her parents as we learn about secrets and see them navigate life after a parents worse nightmare.
The jar is a dominant character in the book. Sadly, it’s the reason a tragedy occurred all those years ago. That dang jar is the reason we had to be pulled away from Ebby’s storyline. And I’m not gonna lie; I really didn’t care about that jar. However, I fully understand its significance to the book, and I appreciate and respect the history surrounding it. 3.5 stars!
Thanks to Libro.fm for an early audiobook copy! January LaVoy does an excellent job narrating the audiobook.
Nonetheless, I think she’s a great story teller and there were many parts of the book I enjoyed. I loved following the storyline with Ebby and Henry. It was my favorite storyline in the book. My second favorite was following her parents as we learn about secrets and see them navigate life after a parents worse nightmare.
The jar is a dominant character in the book. Sadly, it’s the reason a tragedy occurred all those years ago. That dang jar is the reason we had to be pulled away from Ebby’s storyline. And I’m not gonna lie; I really didn’t care about that jar. However, I fully understand its significance to the book, and I appreciate and respect the history surrounding it. 3.5 stars!
Thanks to Libro.fm for an early audiobook copy! January LaVoy does an excellent job narrating the audiobook.
December 22, 2024
Flew through this story!
Heartbreak, family legacy, history, redemption, forgiveness. This one has it all! I will say, it’s a slow burn but so wonderful. Also- don’t skip out on the authors note at the end.
Heartbreak, family legacy, history, redemption, forgiveness. This one has it all! I will say, it’s a slow burn but so wonderful. Also- don’t skip out on the authors note at the end.
Read
January 28, 2025This is our February 2025 selection for Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club and a 2025 Spring Book Preview Spotlight title. I cannot wait for the author to join us for a live discussion on February 27!
In her follow-up to her blockbuster debut Black Cake, Wilkerson again explores grief, trauma, and social justice issues through the lens of one family and its precious heirloom. Ebony “Ebby” Freeman, the twenty-nine-year-old daughter of an affluent Black New England family, suffers a painful and public romantic betrayal in the opening pages. She flees to France to heal but can’t escape the pull to untangle past events—both her recent humiliation and her still-unanswered questions from a trauma she suffered two decades prior. In an alternating timeline, Wilkerson lays out the history of the family’s heirloom stoneware pot and each generation that has possessed it, ever since it was first thrown by an enslaved master craftsman. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen to Ebby and her ancestors.
In her follow-up to her blockbuster debut Black Cake, Wilkerson again explores grief, trauma, and social justice issues through the lens of one family and its precious heirloom. Ebony “Ebby” Freeman, the twenty-nine-year-old daughter of an affluent Black New England family, suffers a painful and public romantic betrayal in the opening pages. She flees to France to heal but can’t escape the pull to untangle past events—both her recent humiliation and her still-unanswered questions from a trauma she suffered two decades prior. In an alternating timeline, Wilkerson lays out the history of the family’s heirloom stoneware pot and each generation that has possessed it, ever since it was first thrown by an enslaved master craftsman. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen to Ebby and her ancestors.
May 17, 2025
I’m a huge fan of Charmaine Wilkerson’s "Black Cake", so I immediately requested "Good Dirt" from the library—and I was not disappointed.
As in "Black Cake", Wilkerson explores the enduring legacies of family history. In "Black Cake", that legacy takes the form of a generational, deeply rooted tradition: the making of a richly symbolic cake, steeped in time, effort, and ancestral memory. In "Good Dirt", the inheritance is a stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved potter—an object that comes to represent a family’s long history as African Americans in New England.
Wilkerson masterfully weaves two narratives. One begins in the year 2000, when the historical jar—known as Old Mo—is shattered during a home invasion that also results in the murder of 15-year-old Basil “Baz” Freeman. The second narrative reaches back to 1803, when an African woman is kidnapped from her village and enslaved in Barbados, where she gives birth to a son named Moses.
In the contemporary thread, the Freeman family is a prominent African American family living in New England. Ebby (short for Ebony), who was just ten years old at the time of the tragedy, was playing with her brother Baz when he was killed and the cherished jar was broken. That violent act defined her childhood and left her with profound, lingering trauma. Years later, Ebby suffers another devastating blow when she is left at the altar on her wedding day. To heal, she retreats to the French countryside in search of solace.
In the historical thread, we learn about Moses, a gifted potter who learns to read and inscribes his initials—“MO”—on his work. Moses is eventually sent to South Carolina, where he hones his craft. His nephew, Willis, escapes enslavement and absconds with one of Moses’ jars—the one that becomes known as Old Mo—on a ship bound for Massachusetts. Through Moses’ story, Wilkerson shines a light on two historically significant but rarely fictionalized forms of labor involving both enslaved and free Black individuals: the mass production of pottery in the American South and the maritime trade crews operating from American ports.
With Ebby’s arc, Wilkerson explores how personal tragedy—especially when made painfully public—can shape a person’s identity. Ebby must navigate the aftermath of not just one but two very public heartbreaks. Her journey is one of survival, of seeking peace and reclaiming autonomy in the wake of unspeakable loss. Good Dirt becomes both a story of the Freeman family legacy and a personal chronicle of resilience and renewal.
I love Wilkerson’s writing. Some examples that stood out to me:
“To tell your story was to experience a kind of freedom. To be able to share news of your adventures, to name your relations and favorite places, was to be a man.”
“‘What had they done?’ This was the question that hung in the air above every Black family that had ever run into misfortune. It was a subtext understood by so many women, of any color, who had ever been harmed.”
I highly recommend this superbly written work of historical fiction.
As in "Black Cake", Wilkerson explores the enduring legacies of family history. In "Black Cake", that legacy takes the form of a generational, deeply rooted tradition: the making of a richly symbolic cake, steeped in time, effort, and ancestral memory. In "Good Dirt", the inheritance is a stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved potter—an object that comes to represent a family’s long history as African Americans in New England.
Wilkerson masterfully weaves two narratives. One begins in the year 2000, when the historical jar—known as Old Mo—is shattered during a home invasion that also results in the murder of 15-year-old Basil “Baz” Freeman. The second narrative reaches back to 1803, when an African woman is kidnapped from her village and enslaved in Barbados, where she gives birth to a son named Moses.
In the contemporary thread, the Freeman family is a prominent African American family living in New England. Ebby (short for Ebony), who was just ten years old at the time of the tragedy, was playing with her brother Baz when he was killed and the cherished jar was broken. That violent act defined her childhood and left her with profound, lingering trauma. Years later, Ebby suffers another devastating blow when she is left at the altar on her wedding day. To heal, she retreats to the French countryside in search of solace.
In the historical thread, we learn about Moses, a gifted potter who learns to read and inscribes his initials—“MO”—on his work. Moses is eventually sent to South Carolina, where he hones his craft. His nephew, Willis, escapes enslavement and absconds with one of Moses’ jars—the one that becomes known as Old Mo—on a ship bound for Massachusetts. Through Moses’ story, Wilkerson shines a light on two historically significant but rarely fictionalized forms of labor involving both enslaved and free Black individuals: the mass production of pottery in the American South and the maritime trade crews operating from American ports.
With Ebby’s arc, Wilkerson explores how personal tragedy—especially when made painfully public—can shape a person’s identity. Ebby must navigate the aftermath of not just one but two very public heartbreaks. Her journey is one of survival, of seeking peace and reclaiming autonomy in the wake of unspeakable loss. Good Dirt becomes both a story of the Freeman family legacy and a personal chronicle of resilience and renewal.
I love Wilkerson’s writing. Some examples that stood out to me:
“To tell your story was to experience a kind of freedom. To be able to share news of your adventures, to name your relations and favorite places, was to be a man.”
“‘What had they done?’ This was the question that hung in the air above every Black family that had ever run into misfortune. It was a subtext understood by so many women, of any color, who had ever been harmed.”
I highly recommend this superbly written work of historical fiction.
March 29, 2025
Beautiful written story about loss, love and perseverance. I absolutely loved Blake Cake and recommend it often so I was so excited to receive this ARC.
That being said, this book was not for me. I found myself bored and the story to be repetitive. I wasn’t invested in the characters and found them all to be obnoxious at times. A lot of miscommunication and failure to speak up throughout the whole story. Every character had some type of secret that was depicted as being horrible and earth shattering. These “revelations” would implode all of the lives around them if they got out. I was underwhelmed by said secrets and annoyed at the dramatics.
Too many POVs. And the story line of Henry’s injury in France…I still don’t see its relevance.
I will read more by this author because the way she writes is beautiful. I just struggled with this particular story.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review
That being said, this book was not for me. I found myself bored and the story to be repetitive. I wasn’t invested in the characters and found them all to be obnoxious at times. A lot of miscommunication and failure to speak up throughout the whole story. Every character had some type of secret that was depicted as being horrible and earth shattering. These “revelations” would implode all of the lives around them if they got out. I was underwhelmed by said secrets and annoyed at the dramatics.
Too many POVs. And the story line of Henry’s injury in France…I still don’t see its relevance.
I will read more by this author because the way she writes is beautiful. I just struggled with this particular story.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review
April 15, 2025
“History is a collective phenomenon. It can only be told through a chorus of voices.” ~ Charmaine Wilkerson, Good Dirt
I devoured and savored every bit of Charmaine Wilkerson’s first novel Black Cake (2022).
Like her previous book, Wilkerson’s sophomore offering, Good Dirt, is a multi-generational story.
This one revolves around a wealthy Black New England family, the Freemans, and their prized possession: a 20-gallon stoneware jar they affectionately call “Old Mo,” made by an enslaved ancestor in 1847.
The nonlinear narrative takes us from 1800s West Africa to Barbados to South Carolina to Massachusetts and to present-day Connecticut.
We learn the story of the Freemans and their precious family heirloom that serves as a vessel for both memory and hope.
Wilkerson’s writing is exquisite as she shines a light on the importance of the lost art of oral storytelling as well as family legacy and lineage.
Such a lovely story of how the past continues to shape the present. Highly recommend, especially for book clubs.
April 7, 2025
“To those whose stories are written in our hearts.”
May we always feel this way each time we open a book that can teach, or make us feel something deeply or touch us in ways we don’t expect. That there will be a story that is written on our heart. ♥️
This is a story about family legacies.
“History can be told only through a chorus of voices.”
Our main protagonist is “Ebby” the daughter of a wealthy Black family in New England. She is expected to marry a white man, Henry who is a part of an old banking family. Her parents hope that this marriage will damper the tragedy that upset the family over 2 decades earlier.
As a 10-year-old, Ebby found her 14-year-old brother, Baz dead, apparently shot by intruders who were never caught. Thus, leaving the crime unsolved. Next to him was a shattered jar heirloom. The media put Ebby in the spotlight then, and now once again focuses on her upcoming wedding to Henry. This creates much turmoil and, causes Ebby to flee to Connecticut.
As Ebby tries to find herself through telling the story of her family history, more unfolds.
The story is told through several P.O.V.’s which bring forward six generations in Ebby’s family, both enslaved and free; and others, as well as the shattered jar. What will readers discover? Will mysteries be solved? Will Ebby find herself and a sense of peace? What of Henry?
Consider how the author names some of her chapters…falling, broken, disquiet, potential, searching, confrontation. So much to be gained from this simple hint of what is to come.
Love. Loss. Legacies. Mysteries. Family saga. Healing. Hope. Moving.
This is a beautifully researched, slow-starting story with well-crafted characters, short chapters, a believable storyline and an easy way of following along through history to present day. Through her eloquent writing, the author gives readers an inside view into the continued division between white and Black America.
Be sure to read the Author’s Note for more insights and book recommendations that explore history.
4.5 stars
May we always feel this way each time we open a book that can teach, or make us feel something deeply or touch us in ways we don’t expect. That there will be a story that is written on our heart. ♥️
This is a story about family legacies.
“History can be told only through a chorus of voices.”
Our main protagonist is “Ebby” the daughter of a wealthy Black family in New England. She is expected to marry a white man, Henry who is a part of an old banking family. Her parents hope that this marriage will damper the tragedy that upset the family over 2 decades earlier.
As a 10-year-old, Ebby found her 14-year-old brother, Baz dead, apparently shot by intruders who were never caught. Thus, leaving the crime unsolved. Next to him was a shattered jar heirloom. The media put Ebby in the spotlight then, and now once again focuses on her upcoming wedding to Henry. This creates much turmoil and, causes Ebby to flee to Connecticut.
As Ebby tries to find herself through telling the story of her family history, more unfolds.
The story is told through several P.O.V.’s which bring forward six generations in Ebby’s family, both enslaved and free; and others, as well as the shattered jar. What will readers discover? Will mysteries be solved? Will Ebby find herself and a sense of peace? What of Henry?
Consider how the author names some of her chapters…falling, broken, disquiet, potential, searching, confrontation. So much to be gained from this simple hint of what is to come.
Love. Loss. Legacies. Mysteries. Family saga. Healing. Hope. Moving.
This is a beautifully researched, slow-starting story with well-crafted characters, short chapters, a believable storyline and an easy way of following along through history to present day. Through her eloquent writing, the author gives readers an inside view into the continued division between white and Black America.
Be sure to read the Author’s Note for more insights and book recommendations that explore history.
4.5 stars
October 20, 2024
I didn’t want this book to end! I love a family drama with numerous moving pieces and Charmaine Wilkerson crafts a very interesting and unforgettable tale!
In Good Dirt we meet the Freeman family, a Black affluent family living in New England. The Freemans can trace their history, and they have a family heirloom that is over a century old and is very much a part of the family. It is the part of the Freeman’s history they are proud of, a jar. They have the perfect life, while they are the old Black family for miles, they are fully integrated in the neighborhood and are loved by many. Idillyic is how you would describe their lives, that is until, one day while ten year old Ebby and her brother are playing hide and seek she hears a gunshot and she finds Baz murdered and the family jar shattered to pieces. This changes the course of the family life forever.
The murdere was never solved and the Freemans had to live with that and the grief of losing their son in the most gruesome way. Added to that, they lost their century old family heirloom. Fast forward to years over, Ebby is getting married to a high profile banker family from New England. No stranger to media attention, Ebby wants to move forward, start a family but that gets ripped a part when her fiancé does not show up and leaves her at the altar. In an effort to move pass this she decides to travel to France for a fresh start, nothing could prepare her for what she found there.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read, it was a mix of family saga, romance, history, mystery and how our family trauma shapes our lives. Told from various perfectives we get a layered look at the stories of the Freeman. We are taken to the Gold Coast where their ancestors were first captured and how they came to live in New England. The story goes from the past to the present and we hear from a lot of the Freemans and how the jar came to be and why it is considered a part of the family. I loved Ebby as a character and I felt for her. The author did an exceptional job talking about grief and how layered it can be.
After reading Black Cake I saw where there were areas that dragged, but I think the author did a phenomenal job with this one. I cant wait for more persons to read it.
In Good Dirt we meet the Freeman family, a Black affluent family living in New England. The Freemans can trace their history, and they have a family heirloom that is over a century old and is very much a part of the family. It is the part of the Freeman’s history they are proud of, a jar. They have the perfect life, while they are the old Black family for miles, they are fully integrated in the neighborhood and are loved by many. Idillyic is how you would describe their lives, that is until, one day while ten year old Ebby and her brother are playing hide and seek she hears a gunshot and she finds Baz murdered and the family jar shattered to pieces. This changes the course of the family life forever.
The murdere was never solved and the Freemans had to live with that and the grief of losing their son in the most gruesome way. Added to that, they lost their century old family heirloom. Fast forward to years over, Ebby is getting married to a high profile banker family from New England. No stranger to media attention, Ebby wants to move forward, start a family but that gets ripped a part when her fiancé does not show up and leaves her at the altar. In an effort to move pass this she decides to travel to France for a fresh start, nothing could prepare her for what she found there.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read, it was a mix of family saga, romance, history, mystery and how our family trauma shapes our lives. Told from various perfectives we get a layered look at the stories of the Freeman. We are taken to the Gold Coast where their ancestors were first captured and how they came to live in New England. The story goes from the past to the present and we hear from a lot of the Freemans and how the jar came to be and why it is considered a part of the family. I loved Ebby as a character and I felt for her. The author did an exceptional job talking about grief and how layered it can be.
After reading Black Cake I saw where there were areas that dragged, but I think the author did a phenomenal job with this one. I cant wait for more persons to read it.
March 1, 2025
I'd previously read Black Cake and loved it. I then watched it on Hulu and decided the book was better. So I had high expectations of Good Dirt, and I think that was warranted. This is the kind of book I'd like to read with my teenage goddaughters. While they are smart and enrolled in the advanced placement history classes, I think stories like this one could really help them connect the dots between what's covered in the classroom and what it might mean to be Black in the US, 160 years after slavery was finally abolished. To raise children into becoming antiracist adults, they need access to books like this - books that draw a direct line from the first kidnappings, the Middle Passage, and how even today, that history of slavery means something to the identities of my girls' classmates, neighbors, and friends who are Black.
I think there are a lot of books out there that could do the same thing and even do it more effectively, but I also believe that the more they are exposed to books like this, the more readily they'll spot the micro aggressions, the faster they will step up to defend, the more passionately they will protest, and the more beautifully they'll manage their relationships with sensitivity and love. I say this about my goddaughters, but actually, reading more and more such books can help us in this manner at any age.
I thought it was interesting to anchor the story on a cold case. I thought the book was going to unravel who broke in and killed Baz. I did not expect it to be a book about a broken heart, a broken family, or a jar. But here's why I think the cold case is important to the book. I had a friend years ago whose only brother (in a family of five siblings, he was the only son) was murdered in a drive by shooting. Houston police were happy to let that one sit unsolved because it was assumed to be a gang shooting. My friend's mother had to do all the detective work and walk the shooter into the police station. Had she not done so, this might still be a cold case today. By juxtaposing Ebby's Black family to Henry's white one, both families having wealth but Ebby's being questioned as to what they did that their home was invaded and their child killed and Ebby being assumed to be the problem in the relationship between the families, by centering the narrative against the cold case, it serves to highlight how wealth and status cannot and do not protect them from social racial profiling, just like my friend's brother and the Houston police department.
Ebby has had to overcome a lot in her young life. She is a character I could love, were she a real person. I could also learn a lot from her. I know it was her grandmother who instilled class in her - I couldn't keep it together like she did in France. Aside from her composure, she was also really clear with her boundaries. I struggle with this too. I would like to learn to be as mature as she is in her relatively young adult life.
I think there are a lot of books out there that could do the same thing and even do it more effectively, but I also believe that the more they are exposed to books like this, the more readily they'll spot the micro aggressions, the faster they will step up to defend, the more passionately they will protest, and the more beautifully they'll manage their relationships with sensitivity and love. I say this about my goddaughters, but actually, reading more and more such books can help us in this manner at any age.
I thought it was interesting to anchor the story on a cold case. I thought the book was going to unravel who broke in and killed Baz. I did not expect it to be a book about a broken heart, a broken family, or a jar. But here's why I think the cold case is important to the book. I had a friend years ago whose only brother (in a family of five siblings, he was the only son) was murdered in a drive by shooting. Houston police were happy to let that one sit unsolved because it was assumed to be a gang shooting. My friend's mother had to do all the detective work and walk the shooter into the police station. Had she not done so, this might still be a cold case today. By juxtaposing Ebby's Black family to Henry's white one, both families having wealth but Ebby's being questioned as to what they did that their home was invaded and their child killed and Ebby being assumed to be the problem in the relationship between the families, by centering the narrative against the cold case, it serves to highlight how wealth and status cannot and do not protect them from social racial profiling, just like my friend's brother and the Houston police department.
Ebby has had to overcome a lot in her young life. She is a character I could love, were she a real person. I could also learn a lot from her. I know it was her grandmother who instilled class in her - I couldn't keep it together like she did in France. Aside from her composure, she was also really clear with her boundaries. I struggle with this too. I would like to learn to be as mature as she is in her relatively young adult life.
October 28, 2024
Much like she did in Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson chooses a non-linear narrative to craft this uneven but ultimately satisfying novel. There are two concurrent threads running through this book. The very interesting contemporary story of Ebony Freeman who witnesses an horrific event at the tender age of just 10.
The other thread is the long history of the Freeman family going back to the days of bondage. The flaw here is that history is mostly represented through a story of a family heirloom, which is a stoneware jar that has been in the family over a century. The jar’s journey tends to drag the entire novel and accounts for all of this could-have-been-great novel’s lowest and slowest pages.
And as the two threads stand side by side, the contemporary narrative provides far more corpulence and propulsion. I’m rounding up to 3.5🌟because the prose was mostly page-turning. The ending was a little hokey, and teased for too long, making it really anticlimactic.
Charmaine Wilkerson is an obvious talent and I will continue to embrace all of her work. That being said, this one falls a little short of being a high recommendation. Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced DRC. Book will drop January 28, 2025
The other thread is the long history of the Freeman family going back to the days of bondage. The flaw here is that history is mostly represented through a story of a family heirloom, which is a stoneware jar that has been in the family over a century. The jar’s journey tends to drag the entire novel and accounts for all of this could-have-been-great novel’s lowest and slowest pages.
And as the two threads stand side by side, the contemporary narrative provides far more corpulence and propulsion. I’m rounding up to 3.5🌟because the prose was mostly page-turning. The ending was a little hokey, and teased for too long, making it really anticlimactic.
Charmaine Wilkerson is an obvious talent and I will continue to embrace all of her work. That being said, this one falls a little short of being a high recommendation. Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced DRC. Book will drop January 28, 2025
September 25, 2024
I know that I am going to be in the minority when I say, I could not connect with this book. Don't get me wrong, Wilkerson is a TALENTED writer. It is a beautifully written book, but I feel like I was a ping pong ball going back and forth between characters and timelines. I am more of a linear reader, I need to have thing's clearly organized, so when the constant change happens, I have a hard time keeping up. As I read, I found myself skipping entire chapters at a time. I found myself gravitating towards the present timeline rather than the past.
I know that this book will definitely be for most people who enjoy historical literary fiction, but for me I just could not get into it.
Also, know that a majority of the story revolves around a clay pot and it's history. It's very important to go into the book knowing that you will be reading a lot about a jug, it's history, how it connects a family over generations, and how it brings a family together.
I know that this book will definitely be for most people who enjoy historical literary fiction, but for me I just could not get into it.
Also, know that a majority of the story revolves around a clay pot and it's history. It's very important to go into the book knowing that you will be reading a lot about a jug, it's history, how it connects a family over generations, and how it brings a family together.
February 21, 2025
This story simply is not good and I found it to be a complete waste of my time. It is just about a jar. Every back story, every slave ancestor story revolves around this jar. If the description for the book said "this is just about a jar" no one would read it, myself included. The biggest issue with this book is that the writing is lazy. The story takes place in Connecticut probably because it has been seen as a symbol of wealth and old money but it bounces between CT and MA and the only city mentioned is Springfield. The author didn't bother doing any geographic research or regional research to mention which cities are actually wealthy, she just said Connecticut and coastline over and over again hoping that we would get the picture. Secondly, we get it the family is rich but saying over and over again how remarkable their wealth is felt stale. Then we have our wealthy, African American "Ebby" engaged to a wealthy white guy who seems completely boring, unable to understand and accept her for who she is, and his family is definitely both classist and racist. What a terrible cliche. I really lost interest in the story after Henry and Avery showed up and then Avery and Ebby thought he could be a murderer. Why would two women who both "love" and seemingly want to marry this man see him as a potential murder? That was a raggedy plot line. And then what's worse is that Ebby and Avery become fast friends over this ridiculous idea. The father's thought about who wanted the jar was conveniently true and his "secret" about the jar was barely a secret at all, it was just selfish and weird. I returned the audiobook with 1 hour left because I could no longer force myself to listen to such horrible writing and a ridiculous plot line hoping that the end would redeem itself. I do not recommend this book at all.
January 28, 2025
Now Available.
Charmaine Wilkerson's second novel, Good Dirt, masterfully explores the enduring impact of tragedy on a family’s legacy. The story centers on Ebony "Ebby" Freeman, the daughter of affluent and accomplished parents, whose family history is deeply rooted in the Northeast. This lineage begins with Willis, an enslaved man who escaped to freedom. Among Willis's few cherished possessions was a pot etched with the initials "MO" and a concealed inscription on its underside. Known affectionately as "Old Mo," the jar became a symbol of resilience and heritage, passed down through generations of the Freeman family.
However, in 2000, the family’s connection to this history is shattered. Intruders invade Ebby’s home, killing her older brother, Baz, and destroying Old Mo, leaving behind a void that reverberates through the family’s narrative. Having been shaped by the shadow of tragedy from a young age, Ebby struggles even more when faced with a deeply embarrassing situation as an adult. Seeking solace, she journeys to France, where she begins to reclaim her sense of self. Immersed in the richness of her family’s legacy, she draws strength from their resilience and achievements. It is in this new chapter of her life that Ebby discovers a profound truth: “Perhaps the only way to cope with loss or guilt is to name it and defy its potential to destroy you.”
Wilkerson’s poignant storytelling delves into themes of loss, identity, and the ties that bind us to our past. 5-stars for this lovely story.
Charmaine Wilkerson's second novel, Good Dirt, masterfully explores the enduring impact of tragedy on a family’s legacy. The story centers on Ebony "Ebby" Freeman, the daughter of affluent and accomplished parents, whose family history is deeply rooted in the Northeast. This lineage begins with Willis, an enslaved man who escaped to freedom. Among Willis's few cherished possessions was a pot etched with the initials "MO" and a concealed inscription on its underside. Known affectionately as "Old Mo," the jar became a symbol of resilience and heritage, passed down through generations of the Freeman family.
However, in 2000, the family’s connection to this history is shattered. Intruders invade Ebby’s home, killing her older brother, Baz, and destroying Old Mo, leaving behind a void that reverberates through the family’s narrative. Having been shaped by the shadow of tragedy from a young age, Ebby struggles even more when faced with a deeply embarrassing situation as an adult. Seeking solace, she journeys to France, where she begins to reclaim her sense of self. Immersed in the richness of her family’s legacy, she draws strength from their resilience and achievements. It is in this new chapter of her life that Ebby discovers a profound truth: “Perhaps the only way to cope with loss or guilt is to name it and defy its potential to destroy you.”
Wilkerson’s poignant storytelling delves into themes of loss, identity, and the ties that bind us to our past. 5-stars for this lovely story.
January 7, 2025
Charmaine Wilkerson is back and better than ever! Her last novel, Black Cake, was very popular but it was just alright for me, but I knew that if so many of you loved it, I needed to try her newest, GOOD DIRT. The story is centered around an affluent Black family trying to figure out the murder of one of their own. Ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot when someone broke into their home and she found her brother Baz lying on the floor beside the shattered remains of a centuries-old family heirloom. Years later, after a high-profile breakup stirs up media attention and reopens old wounds, Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her. As she reflects on the jar lost that day—brought North by an enslaved ancestor of the family—she begins to uncover secrets that could reshape her family’s future.
GOOD DIRT is part mystery, part family drama, part historical fiction, part romance. I don't think I've seen a book expertly weave in so many different types of genres into one book! I listened to GOOD DIRT on audiobook via @librofm and it was amazing. I listened to it during work and when I got home. I could NOT figure out where this story was going and ultimately fell for the characters. GOOD DIRT dives into very serious topics that I found to be very powerful. The topics of class and race really play a part in this story. I really think this book will resonate with readers, even those who did not love Black Cake. I can see this becoming an epic limited series! This book will stay with me for awhile and will be in my top reads for 2025.
GOOD DIRT is part mystery, part family drama, part historical fiction, part romance. I don't think I've seen a book expertly weave in so many different types of genres into one book! I listened to GOOD DIRT on audiobook via @librofm and it was amazing. I listened to it during work and when I got home. I could NOT figure out where this story was going and ultimately fell for the characters. GOOD DIRT dives into very serious topics that I found to be very powerful. The topics of class and race really play a part in this story. I really think this book will resonate with readers, even those who did not love Black Cake. I can see this becoming an epic limited series! This book will stay with me for awhile and will be in my top reads for 2025.
January 15, 2025
I wanted to love this book. I really enjoyed Wilkerson's debut, Black Cake, and was hoping to find success again with her second novel. To me, this book just didn't work. The characters never came alive for me, and although we spend so much time in Ebby's head, I couldn't find a way to connect with her. Dual timelines normally work for me in novels, in this one, I simply was not attached to the historical timeline. I get that it had so much significance for the book, and for the characters in the present day, but I found it confusing and there were SO many characters introduced in the historical timeline that it became very convoluted. I am definitely in the minority, though, most people that I know who have read this book have absolutely loved it. I do think that Wilkerson has an incredible gift for writing and I will still pick up whatever she does next.
November 12, 2024
This is a dual timeline offering depicting an affluent Black family scarred by an act of violence. When Ebby Freeman was 10 years old, she witnessed her older brother Baz being shot dead by robbers in a home invasion. Holding center stage in the book is an iconic stoneware jar revered and passed down through several generations. This jar was crafted by familial enslaved potters/artisans who inscribed it with a secret message of hope. Such pottery became quite valuable in the present day due to its historical significance.
The beginning chapters of the book immediately drew me in with a snappy array of interesting events that played on my emotions- and in some cases shocked me. I thought I was in for an absorbing ride with this book. But after such a promising start, the rest of the book lagged for me. It became a "dual timeline" book, and I didn't enjoy the historical passages that much, although they were important to explain the meaning and importance of the stoneware jar. The bulk of the book explored the PTSD this family struggled with losing a beloved son and brother from unknown assassins, feeling both love and guilt over the treasured stoneware jar that was involved in this crime, with Ebby navigating romantic life amidst all this strife. I hung on until its hopeful, meaningful ending, but it turned out to be just an average read for me.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
March 23, 2025
**Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House - Ballantine, and Charmaine Wilkerson for an ARC of this book!**
"Anyone may have diamonds: an heirloom is an ornament of a different kind." - Elizabeth Aston
The sound of a gunshot...the crash of ceramic, splintering into a thousand pieces...and life would never be the same.
Ebby Freeman cannot escape the painful memories of that day...and part of her simply cannot BEAR to forget them. At the tender age of 10, it was the fateful day when her home was invaded and her brother, Baz, was shot in cold blood. But this inexplicable act of violence took another victim: a centuries' old heirloom, a ceramic jar, that has been as important to the Freeman family as any of its members, past or present. With the Freemans as one of the few black families in the affluent New England area at the time, the case was never solved and Baz's killer was never brought to justice. Ebby's parents are looking forward to their daughter's upcoming wedding to Henry, hoping that this celebration will start a new chapter of their lives, one not shrouded in the pain of the past.
But when Henry doesn't show up for Ebby, she is hurt, humiliated, and above all, confused...why would he abandon her now? Desperate for answers, she heads to France not only looking for an escape, but to give herself the time and space to mourn this new loss. It is her past that comes calling, however, and the very pain she looked to evade rushes back to meet her. Learning the true reason behind Henry's decision to cut and run also ends up being the catalyst for her to explore the very origins of the lost ceramic jar, one that traveled across oceans and centuries before meeting its untimely demise...but where did THAT story begin? How could a simple jug have held so much pain, hope....and so many secrets? And will Ebby's sojourn to France and her self exploration lead her to the answers she's been seeking for so many years...or is it all simply 'dust in the wind?'
This is Charmaine Wilkerson's second novel, and it was a highly anticipated read for me...which can often be both a blessing and a curse. Wilkerson is a talented writer who pens evocative, interesting prose, and her debut novel Black Cake was a 'sweet' mix of historical mystery and family drama...but the only downside was in its execution, which often felt a bit messy and haphazard as timelines would merge and diverge and perspective would jump from character to character...but I had every hope that in Wilkerson's next effort, this quibble would be but a crumb on the plate. (Okay, I promise I'm done with the cake metaphors!) 🎂😉
But unfortunately, as much as some of the themes in this book were beautiful, the overall story-line was rich, and the characters were plentiful...I ended up wishing I'd had my OWN Dustbuster to clean up the debris the broken jar ended up leaving behind. 🧹
Much like Black Cake, this is a historical fiction-family drama-mystery hybrid, with the obvious central mystery being "Who Shot Baz?" and the added mystery of WHY this particular jug is so important, and you DO eventually get those answers...at the VERY end of the book. Along the way, however, you get a whole lot of something else: a rich family history, commentary on the interplay of race and class, AND a bit of a baffling and convoluted love story, just to name a few elements. Again, there's nothing wrong with this in THEORY: it once again came down to execution, and unfortunately this is once again where I stumbled with this book. I'm not sure what it is, but Wilkerson's time jumps never feel 'clean' to me, and it takes me so long to feel acclimated to the new narrator, new time period, and new setting each time we bounce around that by the time I feel 'settled'...well, it's time to move on. It's sort of like being on a guided tour in a museum where each time you lean in to read a plaque on the wall and UNDERSTAND what you're looking at JUST a bit more, it's time for the next exhibit...and you just feel disappointed over and over again.
Aside from this general sense of feeling unsettled, much like her last book, I felt this one could have also used a bit of an edit in terms of length. It felt as though certain points got reiterated while others hardly had time to breathe. As with many genre hybrids, it got a bit lost in translation in terms of the author's main thesis, and I struggled to remain invested in the romance when it seemed that family and heritage were FAR more important in the long run...and doesn't finding the origins of the jar sort of underline that theory?🤔 While the ending is satisfying in the sense that it ties the plot together, I felt less emotionally invested in getting there than I had in Wilkerson's previous novel, so the accompanying 'relief' at finding answers was also lessened...and weeks later, I don't feel as moved thinking back to this read as I had hoped after finishing its last pages.
And while Wilkerson's flowing and poignant writing style did inspire me to bump up my rating (once again!), my contradictory feelings about this novel are as much an oxymoron as this title itself...because for someone who hates getting dirty, there is NO such thing as 'good' dirt.
4 stars, rounded up from 3.5
"Anyone may have diamonds: an heirloom is an ornament of a different kind." - Elizabeth Aston
The sound of a gunshot...the crash of ceramic, splintering into a thousand pieces...and life would never be the same.
Ebby Freeman cannot escape the painful memories of that day...and part of her simply cannot BEAR to forget them. At the tender age of 10, it was the fateful day when her home was invaded and her brother, Baz, was shot in cold blood. But this inexplicable act of violence took another victim: a centuries' old heirloom, a ceramic jar, that has been as important to the Freeman family as any of its members, past or present. With the Freemans as one of the few black families in the affluent New England area at the time, the case was never solved and Baz's killer was never brought to justice. Ebby's parents are looking forward to their daughter's upcoming wedding to Henry, hoping that this celebration will start a new chapter of their lives, one not shrouded in the pain of the past.
But when Henry doesn't show up for Ebby, she is hurt, humiliated, and above all, confused...why would he abandon her now? Desperate for answers, she heads to France not only looking for an escape, but to give herself the time and space to mourn this new loss. It is her past that comes calling, however, and the very pain she looked to evade rushes back to meet her. Learning the true reason behind Henry's decision to cut and run also ends up being the catalyst for her to explore the very origins of the lost ceramic jar, one that traveled across oceans and centuries before meeting its untimely demise...but where did THAT story begin? How could a simple jug have held so much pain, hope....and so many secrets? And will Ebby's sojourn to France and her self exploration lead her to the answers she's been seeking for so many years...or is it all simply 'dust in the wind?'
This is Charmaine Wilkerson's second novel, and it was a highly anticipated read for me...which can often be both a blessing and a curse. Wilkerson is a talented writer who pens evocative, interesting prose, and her debut novel Black Cake was a 'sweet' mix of historical mystery and family drama...but the only downside was in its execution, which often felt a bit messy and haphazard as timelines would merge and diverge and perspective would jump from character to character...but I had every hope that in Wilkerson's next effort, this quibble would be but a crumb on the plate. (Okay, I promise I'm done with the cake metaphors!) 🎂😉
But unfortunately, as much as some of the themes in this book were beautiful, the overall story-line was rich, and the characters were plentiful...I ended up wishing I'd had my OWN Dustbuster to clean up the debris the broken jar ended up leaving behind. 🧹
Much like Black Cake, this is a historical fiction-family drama-mystery hybrid, with the obvious central mystery being "Who Shot Baz?" and the added mystery of WHY this particular jug is so important, and you DO eventually get those answers...at the VERY end of the book. Along the way, however, you get a whole lot of something else: a rich family history, commentary on the interplay of race and class, AND a bit of a baffling and convoluted love story, just to name a few elements. Again, there's nothing wrong with this in THEORY: it once again came down to execution, and unfortunately this is once again where I stumbled with this book. I'm not sure what it is, but Wilkerson's time jumps never feel 'clean' to me, and it takes me so long to feel acclimated to the new narrator, new time period, and new setting each time we bounce around that by the time I feel 'settled'...well, it's time to move on. It's sort of like being on a guided tour in a museum where each time you lean in to read a plaque on the wall and UNDERSTAND what you're looking at JUST a bit more, it's time for the next exhibit...and you just feel disappointed over and over again.
Aside from this general sense of feeling unsettled, much like her last book, I felt this one could have also used a bit of an edit in terms of length. It felt as though certain points got reiterated while others hardly had time to breathe. As with many genre hybrids, it got a bit lost in translation in terms of the author's main thesis, and I struggled to remain invested in the romance when it seemed that family and heritage were FAR more important in the long run...and doesn't finding the origins of the jar sort of underline that theory?🤔 While the ending is satisfying in the sense that it ties the plot together, I felt less emotionally invested in getting there than I had in Wilkerson's previous novel, so the accompanying 'relief' at finding answers was also lessened...and weeks later, I don't feel as moved thinking back to this read as I had hoped after finishing its last pages.
And while Wilkerson's flowing and poignant writing style did inspire me to bump up my rating (once again!), my contradictory feelings about this novel are as much an oxymoron as this title itself...because for someone who hates getting dirty, there is NO such thing as 'good' dirt.
4 stars, rounded up from 3.5
January 10, 2025
Charmaine Wilkerson is the author of the massively successful Black Cake. Her sophomore effort, Good Dirt, carries some of the same components—an impending marriage, a family heirloom, secrets and betrayals—but is nevertheless a very different story, and it’s an even better one. My thanks go to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the invitation to read and review. This book will be available to the public on January 28, 2025.
Our protagonist is Ebby Freeman, which is short for Ebony. She lives with her parents in an affluent neighborhood in New England, but there was a fourth family member, her brother Baz, who was murdered during a home invasion; Ebby witnessed all of it, and has long carried the guilt of survivors. Could her ten year old self have done something to save Baz?
Now Ebby is grown, and plans to be married, but things don’t go as anticipated.
As in her previous novel, Wilkerson packs so many points of view into the story that I eventually stop counting, and although I am skeptical about this choice through much of the book, by the end I have to admit that she has carried it off nicely. Some points of view are urgently necessary to carry the plot forward; others, like that of the intended groom, Henry, are straight-up hilarious in places. Once again, we move not only between points of view, but time periods as well, reaching back into an earlier century, when some of her ancestors were enslaved. These passages aren’t entertaining, but they are necessary to provide clarity and urgency.
Ordinarily, I don’t read stories with wealthy protagonists, and make no mistake, Ebby’s family has a great deal of money; but having the family be African-American, and self-made rather than heirs to massive, often ill gained fortunes helped a great deal. Ultimately it was easy to bond with Ebby. When she experienced pain and rejection, I felt it, too. I carried her around in my head in a way that I usually don’t; over 1,000 reviews are in my rearview mirror, and only the truly special ones take hold of me as this one has.
Highly recommended.
Our protagonist is Ebby Freeman, which is short for Ebony. She lives with her parents in an affluent neighborhood in New England, but there was a fourth family member, her brother Baz, who was murdered during a home invasion; Ebby witnessed all of it, and has long carried the guilt of survivors. Could her ten year old self have done something to save Baz?
Now Ebby is grown, and plans to be married, but things don’t go as anticipated.
As in her previous novel, Wilkerson packs so many points of view into the story that I eventually stop counting, and although I am skeptical about this choice through much of the book, by the end I have to admit that she has carried it off nicely. Some points of view are urgently necessary to carry the plot forward; others, like that of the intended groom, Henry, are straight-up hilarious in places. Once again, we move not only between points of view, but time periods as well, reaching back into an earlier century, when some of her ancestors were enslaved. These passages aren’t entertaining, but they are necessary to provide clarity and urgency.
Ordinarily, I don’t read stories with wealthy protagonists, and make no mistake, Ebby’s family has a great deal of money; but having the family be African-American, and self-made rather than heirs to massive, often ill gained fortunes helped a great deal. Ultimately it was easy to bond with Ebby. When she experienced pain and rejection, I felt it, too. I carried her around in my head in a way that I usually don’t; over 1,000 reviews are in my rearview mirror, and only the truly special ones take hold of me as this one has.
Highly recommended.
June 19, 2025
I loved this book so much.
It begins with Ebby Freeman and a tragedy she went through at 10. It explores how that changes the course of a person’s identity. Yet, so many other factors play a role. This book is beautifully done. It is raw, emotional, sad, painful, hopeful, heartbreaking, uplifting, and strong. It focuses on a family heirloom, a clay jar that has been in the family for 6 generations and how our backgrounds and ancestry also shape who we become. Family is such a central part of the story, all the love and care one brings changes people. It can bring us through more than we ever think is possible.
This is a great book because it makes you feel deeply and care ever page of the book. I just wanted the story to continue. Loved 💕
Thank You NetGalley, Charmaine Wilkerson, and Ballentine Books for a copy of this books. I always lean views for books I read.
It begins with Ebby Freeman and a tragedy she went through at 10. It explores how that changes the course of a person’s identity. Yet, so many other factors play a role. This book is beautifully done. It is raw, emotional, sad, painful, hopeful, heartbreaking, uplifting, and strong. It focuses on a family heirloom, a clay jar that has been in the family for 6 generations and how our backgrounds and ancestry also shape who we become. Family is such a central part of the story, all the love and care one brings changes people. It can bring us through more than we ever think is possible.
This is a great book because it makes you feel deeply and care ever page of the book. I just wanted the story to continue. Loved 💕
Thank You NetGalley, Charmaine Wilkerson, and Ballentine Books for a copy of this books. I always lean views for books I read.
March 2, 2025
“This was the true miracle of life, he thought. Not so much to be born as to bear up under what came your way. To find a way forward. To embrace what was good.”
“Perhaps the only way to cope with loss, or guilt, is to name it and defy its potential to destroy you. Not run from it.”
Immersive, lyrical, poignant, gripping. I loveddddd it.
“Perhaps the only way to cope with loss, or guilt, is to name it and defy its potential to destroy you. Not run from it.”
Immersive, lyrical, poignant, gripping. I loveddddd it.
September 4, 2024
This is a heartbreaking story from the start, of family, of love and loss, but it is also a story of healing. A story of multiple generations of family, and what they’ve endured, individually and collectively. A story that begins in the era of slave trading, and follows the family over time, into a more present time.
This story revolves largely around Ebby Freeman, who was a ten year old girl when her life changed. Her older brother was murdered in their home by two men, who were not aware of her presence. In the days that followed, the story of their family’s loss was on the news everywhere.
Years later, Ebby’s fiance abandons her at the altar, and soon after she leaves to find a place where no one knows her, and so she heads to France, to temporarily be the caretaker for the cottage, knowing that no one there will know her, look at her the way that others do, with pity.
A story that weaves together the stories shared over time and generations of family, trauma, loss, legacies, and love.
Pub Date: 28 Jan 2025
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Ballantine Books
January 28, 2025
When fifteen year old Baz is shot and killed in a home robbery gone wrong, the family’s centuries old heirloom shattered on the floor beside him, the Freeman’s lives are changed forever.
An unsolved crime that catapults her and her family into the spotlight, they struggle to come to grips with the loss. Years later, as she processes a very public breakup, Baz’s sister Ebby is forced to come to terms with what has happened both in the past and present.
It’s not often that a book instantly takes a hold of my life, and yet this one did in such a huge and impactful way. I could literally do nothing else until the last page had been read. These characters and their story is so beautifully tragic and yet also incredibly uplifting. As we travel back in time to see the origin story of this priceless heirloom pot, named Old Mo, and the pain and suffering the Freeman family has endured from 1800s African, through the civil war and beyond, it is hard not to feel a deep connection to them.
This story delves deep into classism, particularly where class and race merge and the impact of that on this affluent Black family, living in a predominantly white neighborhood. The author also explores the theme of identity, and whether what happens to us defines who we are or if those events only end up being a part of the story. Quite a few of the characters end up on their own journey of self discovery as they grapple with just how much their history needs to dictate their future.
🎧 As soon as I heard January LaVoy was narrating, I knew this was one I needed to read with my ears. Her beautiful narration only enhances this powerhouse of a story. If you are an audio lover, this audiobook is a must!
Read if you like:
▪️genre mashups
▪️historical fiction
▪️ensemble casts
▪️subtle mystery/thriller vibes
▪️romance subplot
▪️multiple timelines
▪️spellbinding novels
✨ 2025 Favorite
Thank you Random House, PRH Audio and Libro.fm for the gifted copies.
An unsolved crime that catapults her and her family into the spotlight, they struggle to come to grips with the loss. Years later, as she processes a very public breakup, Baz’s sister Ebby is forced to come to terms with what has happened both in the past and present.
It’s not often that a book instantly takes a hold of my life, and yet this one did in such a huge and impactful way. I could literally do nothing else until the last page had been read. These characters and their story is so beautifully tragic and yet also incredibly uplifting. As we travel back in time to see the origin story of this priceless heirloom pot, named Old Mo, and the pain and suffering the Freeman family has endured from 1800s African, through the civil war and beyond, it is hard not to feel a deep connection to them.
This story delves deep into classism, particularly where class and race merge and the impact of that on this affluent Black family, living in a predominantly white neighborhood. The author also explores the theme of identity, and whether what happens to us defines who we are or if those events only end up being a part of the story. Quite a few of the characters end up on their own journey of self discovery as they grapple with just how much their history needs to dictate their future.
🎧 As soon as I heard January LaVoy was narrating, I knew this was one I needed to read with my ears. Her beautiful narration only enhances this powerhouse of a story. If you are an audio lover, this audiobook is a must!
Read if you like:
▪️genre mashups
▪️historical fiction
▪️ensemble casts
▪️subtle mystery/thriller vibes
▪️romance subplot
▪️multiple timelines
▪️spellbinding novels
✨ 2025 Favorite
Thank you Random House, PRH Audio and Libro.fm for the gifted copies.
December 11, 2025
Good Dirt is a powerful, deeply layered family saga that digs into the legacy of hand-crafted pottery dating back to the era of slavery. The research is impressive and the story Wilkerson created around the history is fascinating. It’s a story that’s as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.
January 3, 2025
Five big stars for this fantastic book! I thoroughly enjoyed Charmaine Wilkerson’s last book, Black Cake, but this one surpassed it in my opinion. Ms. Wilkerson’s storytelling immediately captivated me, and each character added a unique and well-developed texture to the narrative. Although the book jumps around, I never felt lost because each character’s voice was so distinct and engaging. I listened to the audiobook, and January LaVoy’s narration was exceptional. What a fantastic way to start the year—my first book of the year, and it’s already a five-star read!
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