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Detroit Eight #1
If the Moon Had Willow Trees
Award-winning author of The Otherness Factor takes us to Detroit during the turbulence of the Sixties.
Detroit,––July 25, 1967, two days after Detroit cops raid a blind pig (speakeasy) inciting the biggest race riot in American history. Maggie Soulier wakes to a deejay's cry for 'anyone left in the city' to hustle pop to police sweltering at highway checkpoints leading into the firestorm.
Maggie's not a hippie chick looking for a cause, she's the daughter of notorious French Canadian secessionist radicals who disappeared without a trace. A grad student on a visa, Maggie covers absences at a pizzeria to support her stateside civil rights work. Delivering soft drinks to keep armed men from having a meltdown sounded simple. That was before she met Sam Tervo on the wrong side of a gun––before she offered him a Coke, before shared laughter ricocheted against shrieking sirens and a darkening sky.
Sam, a fierce human rights advocate, thinks he's being targeted by mafia types who want something; the question is what. More and more he relies on his friend Clyde Webster, a black civil rights leader and Maggie's co-worker, to guide him through this underworld. Cold sober in the ash, soot and rubble, Clyde pulls together The Eights: eight working-poor, part-time activists, to curb white flight and integrate the burbs. Maggie and Sam, the token whites.
With the intrigue, corruption, brutality and bigotry, Maggie, Sam, Clyde and The Eights experience the love, laughter, irony and self-reflection of blacks and whites redefining friendship and transforming the world with pocket change.
Detroit,––July 25, 1967, two days after Detroit cops raid a blind pig (speakeasy) inciting the biggest race riot in American history. Maggie Soulier wakes to a deejay's cry for 'anyone left in the city' to hustle pop to police sweltering at highway checkpoints leading into the firestorm.
Maggie's not a hippie chick looking for a cause, she's the daughter of notorious French Canadian secessionist radicals who disappeared without a trace. A grad student on a visa, Maggie covers absences at a pizzeria to support her stateside civil rights work. Delivering soft drinks to keep armed men from having a meltdown sounded simple. That was before she met Sam Tervo on the wrong side of a gun––before she offered him a Coke, before shared laughter ricocheted against shrieking sirens and a darkening sky.
Sam, a fierce human rights advocate, thinks he's being targeted by mafia types who want something; the question is what. More and more he relies on his friend Clyde Webster, a black civil rights leader and Maggie's co-worker, to guide him through this underworld. Cold sober in the ash, soot and rubble, Clyde pulls together The Eights: eight working-poor, part-time activists, to curb white flight and integrate the burbs. Maggie and Sam, the token whites.
With the intrigue, corruption, brutality and bigotry, Maggie, Sam, Clyde and The Eights experience the love, laughter, irony and self-reflection of blacks and whites redefining friendship and transforming the world with pocket change.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 21, 2017
152 people are currently reading
664 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Hall
4 books32 followersBorn in Detroit, Kathleen Hall coauthored the award-winning non-fiction, The Otherness Factor, before launching into historical fiction with The Detroit Eight Trilogy — If the Moon Had Willow Trees, Livonia | The Whitest City and One Wingbeat Away.
A writer, poet, lawyer, mediator, and workplace investigator, Kathleen's lifelong activism has been devoted to championing equal rights and promoting the power of diversity. She lives in Austin, Texas with her partner Loren, Emma Dog, herds of deer roaming the streets, red foxes sunbathing in their miniature backyard and armadillos tottering across the driveway.
A writer, poet, lawyer, mediator, and workplace investigator, Kathleen's lifelong activism has been devoted to championing equal rights and promoting the power of diversity. She lives in Austin, Texas with her partner Loren, Emma Dog, herds of deer roaming the streets, red foxes sunbathing in their miniature backyard and armadillos tottering across the driveway.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 26, 2017
Courageous Maggie dives right into the aftermath of the riots and meets the love of her life who, together, connect with civil rights activists. Of course this scenario drew me in! The main characters are very real and I befriended them all. An added element of Maggie's family history added the suspense. I can't wait for Book 2!
June 28, 2017
It is July, 1967 and inner Detroit is burning. A gutsy young brunette named Maggie delivers sodas to police manning the barricades, and along the way, she meets Sam. "Shaking, released from the tension of her absurd mission, Maggie wants to hold onto the moment, turning it into a poem, an ode, a prayer."
It is with this background that two graduate students at Wayne State University who are civil rights activists become the "token, but highly valued whites" in the otherwise black "The Eights." Intrigue, the Mafia and, and maybe even J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI are all part of the tangled background of this novel, along with the long-ago disappearance of Maggie's French Canadian parents.
Hall excels as writing natural conversation and witty banter between and among friends and family. Even the minor characters seem real and are well developed. Loretta, one of The Eight and a black beautician, gives a spontaneous, inspired speech to students at Wayne State on the day of Martin Luther King's assassination in April, 1968. The tale has scattered topical references to brand names, well-known people of the day, and literary allusions as well; however, not knowing the references will not detract from the reader's enjoyment of If the Moon Had Willow Trees.
The book has a dramatic ending—which is also a beginning. Hall intends to continue the story of Maggie and Sam in a forthcoming book.
by Judith Helburn
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
It is with this background that two graduate students at Wayne State University who are civil rights activists become the "token, but highly valued whites" in the otherwise black "The Eights." Intrigue, the Mafia and, and maybe even J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI are all part of the tangled background of this novel, along with the long-ago disappearance of Maggie's French Canadian parents.
Hall excels as writing natural conversation and witty banter between and among friends and family. Even the minor characters seem real and are well developed. Loretta, one of The Eight and a black beautician, gives a spontaneous, inspired speech to students at Wayne State on the day of Martin Luther King's assassination in April, 1968. The tale has scattered topical references to brand names, well-known people of the day, and literary allusions as well; however, not knowing the references will not detract from the reader's enjoyment of If the Moon Had Willow Trees.
The book has a dramatic ending—which is also a beginning. Hall intends to continue the story of Maggie and Sam in a forthcoming book.
by Judith Helburn
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
April 23, 2020
Probably more of a 3 star rating, but reading about the Detroit Riots of 1967 and all the Detroit and Michigan references blinds me to boost it up to a 4 star. I enjoyed it enough that I plan to read the second book in the series and see what happens to the characters. The whole story line on Sam and mind control and the mob is somewhat ridiculous, so I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Interesting to read about how inter racial couples were treated, how pregnant women were discriminated against, and what Detroit was like back in the day. A reference to University of Detroit Mercy sealed the deal for me on this one.
"This was not Vietnam, not a jungle in some god-forsaken outpost. This was Motown, home to the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and the Big Three. An American city under siege."
Interesting to read about how inter racial couples were treated, how pregnant women were discriminated against, and what Detroit was like back in the day. A reference to University of Detroit Mercy sealed the deal for me on this one.
"This was not Vietnam, not a jungle in some god-forsaken outpost. This was Motown, home to the Lions, Tigers, Red Wings and the Big Three. An American city under siege."
October 6, 2018
Goodreads Kindle Copy Win
It is 1967 Detroit and the town is in a buzz as racial tension escalates. We meet Maggie a waitress trying to keep afloat while supporting civil rights in the state. She meets Sam a human rights advocate who is paranoid that the mafia is after him while trying to keep gun men.
Sam and Maggie become token whites in a group of eight who fight for the injustices of the times. It is their struggles of the time as they cope with life.
An interesting read.
It is 1967 Detroit and the town is in a buzz as racial tension escalates. We meet Maggie a waitress trying to keep afloat while supporting civil rights in the state. She meets Sam a human rights advocate who is paranoid that the mafia is after him while trying to keep gun men.
Sam and Maggie become token whites in a group of eight who fight for the injustices of the times. It is their struggles of the time as they cope with life.
An interesting read.
September 11, 2020
3-4 stars. I enjoyed this book for a couple reasons. It takes place in Detroit and mentions street names, places and people that are familiar to me. Also it takes place in the 60s which holds lots of memories for me - from struggles for civil rights and demonstrations which I had participated in, the moon landing, the music of the times, along with the politics. There were lots of mentions of little things, like brush rollers which made me reminisce. That part was fun.
June 13, 2022
1968 - 1969.
This book is okay. It has too many different story lines. It has the looking for parents, gas lighting the husband, the civil rights and the landing on the moon for the first time storylines. It looked like the author was trying to put anything that happened in the late sixties in one book. It was interesting because it gave you a feel for the relationship between the Blacks and Whites at the time. Any from the ages of 12 and up might like it.
This book is okay. It has too many different story lines. It has the looking for parents, gas lighting the husband, the civil rights and the landing on the moon for the first time storylines. It looked like the author was trying to put anything that happened in the late sixties in one book. It was interesting because it gave you a feel for the relationship between the Blacks and Whites at the time. Any from the ages of 12 and up might like it.
December 13, 2018
Beautifully written
The prose is musical at times. It is a pleasure just to read the words. The story th I see words make is simultaneously frustrating, irritating, courageous and light. I'd love to say this was decades ago and so much progress has been m made. Yet, I'd be lying.
I won this book on a goodreads.com giveaway.
The prose is musical at times. It is a pleasure just to read the words. The story th I see words make is simultaneously frustrating, irritating, courageous and light. I'd love to say this was decades ago and so much progress has been m made. Yet, I'd be lying.
I won this book on a goodreads.com giveaway.
March 10, 2019
Wow
Great book. Couldnt stop reading till the end... that wasnt the end. Okay, its a series. I wasn't prepared for that. I lived this period in history so identified with all of it. Can't wait to read the next book.
Great book. Couldnt stop reading till the end... that wasnt the end. Okay, its a series. I wasn't prepared for that. I lived this period in history so identified with all of it. Can't wait to read the next book.
April 15, 2024
Not how i thought this book would be written, but, i think I am pulled in for some more history written romance storyline. Learned a lot I forgot, along with a romance story. 4 stars.
Definitely reading the rest!
Definitely reading the rest!
March 26, 2018
Only half a story
I wish I wasn't so invested in a book that is only half the story. You are left hanging on multiple fronts. No fair! Write faster dear author!
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
I wish I wasn't so invested in a book that is only half the story. You are left hanging on multiple fronts. No fair! Write faster dear author!
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
June 29, 2018
Kept my attention from the first page to the last
September 6, 2018
Great premise
I really enjoyed the down to earth story that was written here. The characters were all entertaining and heartfelt. I can't wait to see what happens next!
I really enjoyed the down to earth story that was written here. The characters were all entertaining and heartfelt. I can't wait to see what happens next!
May 21, 2019
Good story, kept me reading - wanting to know how it would wrap all up. I felt like this story had a LOT going on in it. Will be interesting to hear how the author puts it all together in the end.
Want to read
July 21, 2019TheFussyLibrarian
October 27, 2020
For the most part I liked the book but the plot got weird towards the end and then ended. The next book needs to be read and maybe others to untangle the mystery developing.
September 30, 2023
OMGOODNESS! I've had this book for awhile, but I just kept putting off reading it. The first in a series, I now want to read the rest.
A look at the Detroit riots and a young white couple working with a group to ensure equal civil rights for blacks and women.
A look at the Detroit riots and a young white couple working with a group to ensure equal civil rights for blacks and women.
Read
January 25, 2018Loved this glimpse of my hometown, Detroit, during the riots, and the rich portrayal of a group of multi-cultural civil rights activists. Looking forward to the next book in the series!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews