The Cursed Ground

Zora and Me #2

by T.R. Simon

A 2019 Edgar Award Nominee

A powerful fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston’s childhood adventures explores the idea of collective memory and the lingering effects of slavery.

“History ain’t in a book, especially when it comes to folks like us. History is in the lives we lived and the stories we tell each other about those lives.”

When Zora Neale Hurston and her best friend, Carrie Brown, discover that the town mute can speak after all, they think they’ve uncovered a big secret. But Mr. Polk’s silence is just one piece of a larger puzzle that stretches back half a century to the tragic story of an enslaved girl named Lucia. As Zora’s curiosity leads a reluctant Carrie deeper into the mystery, the story unfolds through alternating narratives. Lucia’s struggle for freedom resonates through the years, threatening the future of America’s first incorporated black township — the hometown of author Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960). In a riveting coming-of-age tale, award-winning author T. R. Simon champions the strength of a people to stand up for justice.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Mystery, Historical, Fiction, Friendship, African American

272 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2018

About the author

I'm the co-author with Victoria Bond of Zora and Me, winner of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, nominated for an Edgar, and winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award. With my husband Richard Simon and NYT bestselling illustrator Mark Siegel, I am the co-author of Oskar and the Eight Blessings, winner of a National Jewish Book Award for children's literature. My most recent book, Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground, is a Junior Library Guild selection with starred reviews from Horn Books, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Shelf Awareness and has been nominated for a 2019 Edgar Award in the Juvenile category.
Find me at www.trsimonbooks.com

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two kinds of memory. One is the ordinary kind, rooted in things that happened, people you knew, and places you went.... The second type of memory is rooted in the things you live with, the land you live on, the history of where you belong.

How on earth are we ever gonna suck the marrow out of life if we just sit by and let questions stroll down our street without inviting them in for a glass of lemonade?

This is the story that alternates between the 19th and 20th centuries; first, it is the story of Carrie Brown and Zora Neale Hurston, both age 12 in 1903, the girls are awakened one night to the sound of horses running through Zora's yard. They soon discover a neighbor in need and wounded, although the town conjure woman or "witch" shakes them off, the girls feel there are a lot of secrets that they are grown up enough to know. It is also when they begin to realize that their home, Eatonville, the first incorporated town for coloreds has a history that existed long before they were born.

Slavery happened to folks who lived in the past and somewhere else; our Eatonville was a place where Negroes lived outside of the will of white folks, and we only ever saw ourselves as a bright future.

Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground is also the story of Lucia, an orphan girl that follows her master to Saint Augustine, Florida in 1855 and eventually to a farm called Westin. Once a companion to the master's daughter, it is quickly told to Lucia her real place is amongst the slaves. As readers, we follow Lucia from her time in Westin and all that she endures while longing for freedom.

The past is living in each one of us. Trying to push it down below remembering just makes it find another way through.

I found both stories to be equally captivating and it's the reason that I was late getting supper on the table. As an adult reader, I had an inkling of how exactly these stories were going to converge with one another, but that doesn't diminish how compelling a story Zora and Me quickly became. I felt that the story was appropriate for the middle grades and that there would certainly be plenty of discussion generated from the novel. In addition to the story, there is a thorough biography of Zora Neale Hurston, herseld, a member of the Harlem resistance movement and a novelist( Their Eyes Were Watching God & three others). There is also included in the book a a timeline of Hurston's life and acknowledgements from the author.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cursed Ground is the second book in the Zora and Me series, a fictionalized account of the childhood of African American author Zola Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Hurston was a writer and anthropologist, writing on racial issues in the American South and Haitian voodoo. T.R. Simon creates a world of her childhood in the early 1900s, where Zora and her best friend, Carrie Brown, live in Eatonville, Fla. Eatonville was one of the first all-black incorporated towns in the United States.

I have not read the first book in this series, but The Cursed Ground is a wonderful, bittersweet and captivating story about racial issues and the aftermath of slavery. The book alternates between Zora's time and 50 years before, telling the story of a young slave named Lucia. The tale begins when Zora and Carrie discover a secret about Mr. Polk, the town mute. Turns out that the mystery of how the mute man can actually speak is part of a bigger secret....one that might threaten the future of Eatonville.

I loved this book! The storytelling is vibrant and emotional. The characters are beautifully developed and striking. I had never heard of Zola Neale Hurston before I read this book. But I'm definitely going to read about her life and learn more. I'm on the waiting list at the library for one of her books, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Lovely book! I will definitely read more of this series!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Candlewick Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground is the second in a series of historical fiction written by T. R. Simon. Set in Eatonville, Florida the novel not only introduces middle grade readers to a fictionalized young Zora Neale Hurston, but also to the very first African-American incorporated village. The book follows two storylines: one that centers on a land dispute that threatens the safety of the young town and the other set 50 years earlier during slavery. Both narratives have strong female characters, their resiliency imbuing the power of collective memory and the history that lives on within us. As a mother I am constantly looking for books that have characters that will resonate with my children. I am particularly aware of how important this is for my daughter. Although she is only 6 now I want to be able to provide for her positive images of young Black women. Whether it's something magical as is implied by the catchphrase Black girl magic or just her tapping into her own innate human capacity, I want her to know all that is within her power. Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground does this with characters that ring sincere and hold their own unique strengths. The plot was engrossing and could hold its own as a stand alone novel. Definitely something I would want my daughter to read.

Thank you NetGalley, Candlewick Press and T. R. Simon for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually like to read second books in a series before I read the first book, but I made an exception for Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground, and I'm glad I did. I was immediately pulled into the mystery that the two main characters find themselves involved in, but this book turned out to be so much more than just a mere puzzle.

When Zora Neale Hurston was young, she lived with her family in a town called Eatonville, Florida, the first all black community in the United States. The story begins there one night in 1903 when Zora and her best friend Carrie Brown, both 12, discover two loose horses in the Hurston yard. Recognizing the horses as belonging to Mr. Polk, a mute neighbor, the two girls sneak out and head for his place to see what happened. There, they find Mr. Polk injured and a fire in his cabin. But Zora and Carrie aren't the only ones who noticed something happening, so did Old Lady Bronson, the town's conjure woman, who took charge of Mr. Polk's injuries, and to the absolute surprise of both girls, spoke to him in a strange language and heard him answer. When Zora presses Old Lady Bronson for answers about what she and Carrie just witnessed, the conjure lady makes a deal with her: if she keeps quiet about the night's events, she will tell Zora "a story worth hearing."

The story shifts back to 1855 and a young black girl named Lucia begins narrating her story. Leaving her Caribbean island home of Hispaniola with Prisca and her father Master Frederic, her white owners, Lucia finds herself living enslaved on a plantation in Florida named Westin. Up until moving to Florida, Lucia had been treated well by Master Frederic and was best friends with Prisca. But, three years later, Master Frederic has died and Prisca's stepmother decides to sell Lucia, claiming the plantation needed money and it was part of her marriage contract with Master Frederic that Lucia would be sold.

The story continues to alternate between Zora and Carrie's present and Lucia's life of slavery. Slowly, however, the two stories come together in a surprising way as Zora and Carrie learn the truth about Mr. Polk, Old Lady Bronson and their own connections to slavery and Eatonville's past, and that "history wasn't just something you read in a book. It was everything your life stood on. We who thought we were free from the past were still living it out." (pg 174)

Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground is a gripping coming of age work of historical fiction and Simon has done a stellar job bringing the characters, the time periods, and the setting to life. Carries is an intelligent, though somewhat cautious girl, while Zora is an impulsive, curious, and intelligent girl, and Old Lady Bronson knows when she finds the two girls at Mr. Polk's place that Zora won't be happy until she is told the truth about the night's events.

Simon goes easily from time period to time period without jarring the reader, ending each section with enough to really keep the reader going simply by igniting their curiosity to discover, like Zora, what is going on.

And Eatonville? Setting in a novel is always important, but here so much of the action in this novel centers around the town of Eatonville, founded in 1887, that it actually becomes another important character as Lucia's 1855 story begins to merge with the event's of 1903 Eatonville. I can't say more or I'll give too much away and you definitely want to find out the answers on your own.

Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground may be difficult for some readers. Simon tackles the brutality of slavery head on and without apology. This may make some white readers uncomfortable, but if you can get past you discomfort, there is a lot of painful truth to be found here. Prisca's stepmother and her children are classic examples of white attitudes about black people, but what is made clear is that this attitude persisted into the 20th century and, I am sad to say, even into 21th century. This is certainly a thought-provoking element in the novel and I hope people do think about it.

Do read Simon's short biography of Zora Neale Hurston at the back of the novel, and check out the timeline of her life. There is also an annotated bibliography of Hurston's work, and a list of children's books that were adapted from the folktales she collected.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

And yes, I can't wait to read the first book, Zora & Me

[Kelly Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most powerful books I've read in ages. The synopsis doesn't tell anywhere near the whole story. (Which obviously is good; who wants to know everything?)

This is set in two times--the early 1900s and the late 1800s, but pre-Emancipation Proclamation. Zora and her friend Carrie are in the early 1900s; Lucia is late 1800s. Even though Zora has only ever known freedom, it's clear that slavery still has a powerful legacy in her town (Eatonville). Because of this, basically any white face is cause for concern. There are exceptions, but not many.

But the value in this book is the way it lays bare how monstrous slavery was. Most of the white people in the 1880s section are what we would consider kind people. A couple of them are horrible, but most of them aren't. They would never whip a slave. But they would absolutely sell them. One of them says to another white person (and I'm paraphrasing).  "Slaves aren't people and they aren't pets. They're property and they aren't your property. They belong to the plantation."
Read that a couple times and let it sink in. 

It wouldn't even occur to them that Lucia is an actual person, with worth beyond what she can do for the white people in her life. 

This book gave me the bad kind of chills. 

But it's also incredibly well-written and, while it's hard to read, it's also hard to stop reading. We need to remember what we, as a country, allowed to happen in order to keep it from happening again. 

Highly recommended.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel and did not realize until after reading it that it was the second in a series. It is perfect as a stand alone. This story is told in two places in time, 1855 and 1907 about the first all-black town, Eatonville Florida. The characters in 1907, through events in their town are learning about the secret history of Eatonville, and slowly the story told in 1855 catches up to 1907. Such a powerful and well-written middle grade book. I highly recommend this story for all ages.
Thank you to Candlewick and NetGalley for this e-copy, my opinions are my own.
www.colecampfireblog.com
LanaLCole@yahoo.com

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zora Neale Hurston is my favorite author and Their Eyes Were Watching God is my favorite book. I was thrilled when I learned that there would be a series loosely based on her childhood. I devoured the first book and gave it five stars. This book was no different. I love that although these books are for middle grade readers they contain ugly truths from history that we need never forget. Highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Penny Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going back and forth between two time periods, this historical novel describes a community in Florida. Zora (based on famed writer Zora Neale Hurston) and her young friends deal with a white person who wants to take a neighbor's land, and the other story focuses on a young girl enslaved in the same part of Florida fifty years before the first story. Foreshadowing is subtle but many tween readers may guess the connection between the two stories. Also, I wasn't aware this was a sequel - it stand on its own. Readers will get a visceral sense of the devastation of slave life.

[Nina]

I have one of those imaginations where it's not so easy foe me to dissolve into the realm of many YA and MG books, but this one got me. It is a useful *and* good read. I wrote about it for Black Girl Nerds: https://blackgirlnerds.com/zora-me-th...

[Robert Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground is not quite a young adult novel, but it's definitely upper-age middle grade. Alas, there just isn't a kid-friendly way to discuss slavery without pretending slavery was something less horrible than what it was (don't do this, even if you're writing a text book in a church in Texas).

Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground is not quite a historical accounting, even though it's drawn from historical events and features a fictionalized version of a Zora Neale Hurston. It's more of a story than an essay, but the book definitely has a formal message. It's a sequel, but I don't think you need to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

T. R. Simon catches up quickly:

I was staying with Zora's family for the week while my mama tended her employer's sick baby over in Lake Maitland. After Daddy died, there was just me and Mama. I was an only child. Alone with Mama I might have felt lonely in the world, but I had Zora, my best friend, my secret keeper, and my talisman against sorrow. From the time I was old enough to have a conversation, Mama always liked to tell how my three-year-old self toddled over to Zora, who was squirming and fussing one pew away from us in her father's church, grabbed her hand, and didn't let go for the next hour. Zora took a long look at me, tried once to shake me loose, then settled right down to the idea of us being joined. Zora's mother liked to say that after I took a hold of Zora, Sunday morning service once again became a place of worship and peace for her. I don't remember that at all. In fact, my own first memory of Zora has the roles reversed: instead of me grabbing her, she's grabbing me and pulling me with her as she scrambles after a lizard that turns out to be a baby diamondback rattler. My screams brought our parents running, and Zora was praised for saving me. Only, I knew there would have been no need to save me if she hadn't taken hold of me in the first place. But I never held the scrapes against Zora. She made life in a town no bigger than a teacup feel like it held the whole world.

Our narrator is Carrie Brown, who is a sort of Watson to young Zora's Sherlock Holmes, or, if you prefer (and I do), her Ellicott Skullworth to Zora's Banneker Bones. Incidentally, I wondered about the aptness of comparing these two young black girls to two older white men (Watson and Sherlock, not Ellicott and Banneker), but after I wrote this, I watched the video below in which the author makes the same comparison, so we're good:).

Zora and Carrie are on a new case, and it's a fun one (from a mystery writer's perspective). Someone has stabbed the local mute man who can't say what happened. The middle grade mystery doesn't open with a body, but there'll be bodies before it's done. Further intriguing, the mute man is able to whisper something to the town conjure woman.

Note how Simon is able to tell us so much about Carrie and Zora's relationship and their motivations in this simple exchange:

The secret Mr. Polk shared with Old Lady Bronson didn't excite me; it frightened me. "Honestly, Zora, maybe it ain't for us to know. Maybe there's some secrets folks just ought to keep."
She looked at me incredulously. "Carrie Brown, you can't be serious. How on earth are we gonna suck the marrow out of life if we just sit by and let questions stroll down our street without inviting them in for a glass of lemonade? Mama always says, 'Ain't no one ever got dumber trying to answer a question.' And I intend to answer all life's questions.

Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground starts out rather tame-ish in 1903 in the town of Eatonville where all the inhabitants are black and doing as well as can be expected in America in 1903. But of course, white folks are at the edge of town conspiring to mess it all up because of course they are. And this is a book that gives us a very specific, and, sigh, accurate view of many white folks at the time (#notallgreatgrandmas):

There's nothing white folks won't do when colored folks have something they want.

No matter how clear our town borders seemed to me, they could be disregarded at any moment by white men who sought to hurt us.


Uneasy whites always bring black death.

Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground isn't going to be a favorite read of our Trump-supporting relatives, but they're not really readers anyway. This is a book for reasonable, thinking folks who can appreciate facts for what they are and an honest discussion of them. If that's not you, go ahead and watch your Fox News.

White people reading this book will be made uncomfortable, even the ones who listen to NPR and voted for Obama twice:) Good. This is uncomfortable stuff and should not be read easily.

If you're a teacher considering not reading this book to your class because some of your students are a different race than you and you don't want things to get awkward, quit being a coward. Read this book aloud. Now. Don't wait until February--this is American history all year round. Awkward discussions need to be had, so fight through it.

Getting back to the book, you'll remember this town has a conjure woman. This is one of my most favorite character introductions of ever:

A shadow fell across the doorway. We looked up to see Old Lady Bronson. She was wrapped in a dark-gray shawl, her giant black cowhide bag hung against her right hip. With soldier boots that stopped below her knees and the still-dissipating smoke rising around her, the town conjure woman looked every bit the part of a witch. The steel-gray hair I'd only ever seen her wear in a in a single tight braid down her back blew wild behind her, gleaming with droplets of rain. Her freckled skin glowed in the lamplight. Silhouetted against the lightning-filled sky, Old Lady Bronson looked electrified.

There's a lot more to Old Lady Bronson than first meets the eye, but I can't tell you much without spoiling. She's an extremely interesting character and I'd like to read a book that was just about her without any children detectives, but that wouldn't be very middle grade:) She's wisely employed here as someone who may or may not have the ability to curse things, which might come up in a book subtitled "The Cursed Ground."

And she's extremely useful as a plot device, again in ways I shouldn't reveal. But authors, take note at the way T.R. Simon deploys Old Lady Bronson to provide necessary exposition rather than flat out telling us how old these girls are:

I always tell folks that twelve is a changeling year, and it looks like you starting to have some sense with your twelve years.

Carrie has developed feelings for Teddy, a friend of her and Zora's, and there's some other drama in the present tense of the story, but we're not going to bother with that. Because just when the reader is settling in for a familiar middle grade read about our young detectives solving a mystery, Simon pulls the rug out from beneath them by flashing back to 1855 to discuss the adventure of two other girls, Lucia and Prisca.

They might almost be Carrie and Zora in another life, save for one crucial difference. Though the girls start as equal, when they move to America, the darker-skinned Lucia is designated a slave and worked to the bone, while Prisca remains free. And the telling of their story is brutal and unflinching:

I was terrified of what Prisca's tears could bring.
And so I shushed her, apologizing gently until her tears slowed.
In that moment I learned to be a slave even with Prisca. To bottle up my feelings and my fears so that she did not unleash the force of her own power, a power she herself barely understood. The power to be a whole person, her whole self, while I was now forced to exist as a fraction of a human being, a slave with no rights to my own self. What Prisca did not understand, but that I now did, was that the past meant nothing.
She answered me in a ferocious whisper. "Out there you're a slave, but in here we are as we always have been. In here, nothing has changed!"
The first year Prisca often pulled me into her bed during the night and wept onto my shoulder. I did not weep with her. I lay still, the flesh and blood doll she turned to when her loneliness became too hard to bear.

Prisca was defending me--not because I was a person and should not be sold, but because I was her property and could not be taken from her.

There are worse passages to follow, but I won't share them all. Lucia is whipped and beaten and subjugated and endures all manner of things that are unpleasant, but which children growing up in Trump country need to be made aware actually happened.

Know, children, just what sort of awfulness that man intends when he says he wants to "make America great again." Know the history his "fine people" marching in Charlottesville would have us repeat.

There is violence in this novel, but it's mostly the emotional kind. And even though there's at least one death that's a bit more graphic than what I'm accustomed to in middle grade fiction, Simon is mindful to explain these complex adult subjects in a manner that's easier to digest for younger readers, without altering the truth of what she's discussing:

Zora's brow creased. "What a horrible choice: freedom for yourself or slavery with the folks you love."
Teddy shook his head and said, "Seems like no matter what you chose, running or staying, you must have had a broken heard your whole life."

As I said, that opening passage at the top of this review reads like the thesis of an academic argument as much as the opening of a middle grade novel, and I dig that so hard. Crank up your Bob Dylan, fellow English majors, and let's discuss the meaning of "The Cursed Ground." Oh, sure, there's a conjure woman, but the curse of this particular patch of American soil has far less to do with magic than the action of our ancestors.

Much of the tension of this story comes from learning how the story of 1855 connects to the story of 1903, which of course it does, brilliantly. Without spoiling, one character late in the novel tells us, "Slavery is over, but tonight you saw how it still haunts us."

Once the reader understands that this book is as much an essay as it is a story, they can fully appreciate the closing arguments:

Zora was right: history wasn't just something you read in a book. It was everything your life stood on. We who thought we were free from the past were still living it out.

Mr. Ambrose rubbed his forehead. "Because slavery isn't far enough in our past yet," he answered. "What we're facing now is the unfinished business of slavery."
"When will it be finished?" Zora demanded.
"That's what I want to know," I added.
"I don't know, girls. White folks have a disease A disease that started with slavery. We taught ourselves to see colored folks as inferior so we could enslave them. And now we have a need to keep seeing them as inferior. White folks have become dependent on feeling superior to the colored race; no matter how low we fall, we can tell ourselves that the colored man is always lower."
"Do you think that, too?" Zora asked.
Mr. Ambrose took a full minute to respond. "It would be a lie to say I didn't. Every white man I know has the seed of race hate planted and rooted in him by the time he's reached his fifth year. This country is founded on it, and not even a civil war could uproot it. The only way to fight that hate is to consciously decide every day to choose against the hate we've been taught."

Thankfully, in 2008, Barrack Obama was elected president and racism was over forever in the United States and white police never again shot an unarmed black man and evil white people never repeatedly flashed white power hand symbols behind a would-be rapist supreme court nominee put forward by the most evil political party our nation has ever seen.




The past is still very much with us, Esteemed Reader, as we are all living on cursed ground. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground is an important book that should be made available in every classroom across this country as a primer for American children to learn about this political mess they're inheriting. Don't miss this extraordinary novel.

And don't miss author T.R. Simon's interview on Wednesday. As always, I'll leave you with some of my favorite passages from Zora and Me:The Cursed Ground:

A last flicker of lightning lit up his face, making invisible all the wrinkles of age for a fraction of a second and revealing the face of a troubled boy.

"You know how my mind works--once a question starts a fire inside me, I have to answer it, no matter how bad I get burned. There ain't no pain more painful than the pleasure I get from the light of truth."

For the first two weeks, when the two of us were alone, I allowed myself the fantasy that things between us were as they had been, that we still could enjoy each other's company in a time and place without slavery. It was a useless fantasy and a dangerous one. The present was a hell with no escape, and the past could change nothing about that.

Across his shoulder was slung the rifle he always carried, pressed tight against his lean frame like a second spine.

House wasn't quite the right word. It was more like a shipwreck in the shape of a house.

The gun made the house feel like a cage set with a trap.

I burned with fear, sorrow, humiliation, and helplessness. And not one of Prisca's tears could extinguish that fire.

Zora elbowed me. She loved the way folks whose speech was plain as gray wool in normal times liked to trot out their biggest words on special occasions, as if they had been saving them up and didn't want to waste them on everyday things. We agreed that her father was king of the fifty-cent words, but there were a lot of dukes and earls and counts in the kingdom of Eatonville, too!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of this book is that it works so well on multiple levels. The characters are vivid and haunting, the story is captivating, but also Simon captures the feel of Hurston's Eatonville eerily well. I'm ashamed to say I only just got around to reading Their Eyes Were Watching God this past year, but having it so fresh in my memory also means that I can vouch for the authenticity that resonates here. Highly recommended and could be a good companion to Ophie's Ghost or Jewell Parker Rhodes' books.

[Aeicha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Zora & Me series, which includes book one, Zora & Me, and book two, The Cursed Ground, is a fictionalized account of the childhood of famous writer Zora Neale Hurston during the turn of the 20th century. Each book in the series is narrated by Carrie Brown, best friend to fictionalized Zora, and takes place in the very real Eatonville, Florida, the first all African-American established and inhabited town in the USA (where the real Zora lived).

Both Zora & Me books offer readers complex mysteries with immense impacts on their characters and history. In book one, Zora & Me, Carrie and Zora find themselves wrapped up in a murder mystery that may or may not involve an alligator man. While in book two, The Cursed Ground, Carrie and Zora uncover a mystery that stretches back to the horrific times of slavery, and the story switches back and forth from Carrie’s POV in their present to the POV of an enslaved girl named Lucia.

This series shines a light on an often overlooked and dismissed era and community, bringing the joys, obstacles, and daily lives of African Americans during this time period (and throughout history) to life, and celebrating the history, culture, and achievements of this community and people. With an authentic and unwavering voice, these stories offer captivating and exciting mysteries, while deftly exploring themes of racism, poverty, slavery, family, friendship, and community. Young Zora is a dazzling, delightful, and larger than life character, with a beautiful imagination.

With wonderful storytelling, rich history, and engaging characters, this series is sure to inspire, move, and entertain young readers.

[Shelby M. (Read and Find Out) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: Slavery, beatings, violence, threatened lynching, racism

4.25 stars. My Video Review

[Museofnyxmares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published on: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/...

*I was provided with an ARC of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this story so much! It was easy to read and had such beautiful prose, that I not only read it, but felt it! The author really blew me away with how simple thoughts and actions could be so cleverly crafted, so that each sentence fully resonated. There were some very difficult topics in this book and the writing did such a wonderful job of making the reader deeply feel. Most of the text had such a playfulness about it, as the characters themselves were such a light-hearted bunch. But the writing still managed to evoke such a strong reaction when it dealt with slavery.

I’m always curious about how children view race and furthermore, racism. Children usually want straight answers for things and with racism there really isn’t a clear cut answer, and so there must be such confusion surrounding it for children of all races. This was evident in The Cursed Ground as the children kept constantly asking why people were racist and not understanding why they were hated simply for the colour of their skin. It was heart breaking to read about how these children had to come to terms with such a harsh reality.

The two stories intertwining was great and each story had me equally engrossed. I was invested in both of the storylines and their respective characters. I honestly can’t say which story I loved more, although Zora and Carrie’s story had such sweet and humorous moments that it might have just taken that extra bit of my heart. Lucia’s story was quite difficult to read and I felt angry and upset on her behalf. People had been cruel to her in many ways and yet she tried continuously, to rise above hate. Her plight documented slavery in a very honest and deeply upsetting way, but even sad stories deserve and need to be told. The way that the two story’s came together was amazing, and it was even more rewarding because it felt like two beloved books coming together, although in this case they were already apart of the same story.

Zora and Carrie’s friendship was so special and I cherished every second of it. They loved each other so fiercely and were definitely partners in crime, no matter how much Carrie tried not to get caught up in Zora’s plans. Zora was by far my favourite character, she was gutsy, stubborn, witty and most of all, deeply caring and protective. She was hilarious and was very much the town busybody, and in her own opinion it’s protector. Her character was a delight and it was magical how well her and Carrie balanced each other out.

I cared for all of the main characters and even some of the secondary characters very much. The only ones that I didn’t like were the ones that I wasn’t supposed to. I was over the moon to find myself with such a likeable cast of characters, Zora’s little town truly means a lot to me. The author created such a luminous glow about the place, as no matter what hate tried to ride in to town, it kept on shining with the glow of love, family, friendship and community.

I wasn’t aware that this was the second book in the Zora and Me series when I requested it, but I don’t think it really mattered, I didn’t feel like I lacked prior knowledge of anything. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m very impressed at how well it conveyed that we can’t and shouldn’t forget the past, but rather learn from, grow from and find your own sense of peace and if needs be, justice from it. I definitely recommend it!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cursed Ground is the second book in the Zora & Me series. Unfortunately, I missed out on the first book, but both appear to be the historical fictionalized accounts of author Zora Neale Hurston's early childhood. The story is initially narrated by Carrie and set in 1903 in Eatonville, Florida. Late one night while sleeping over at her friend Zora's house, Carrie hears horses running wild outside the bedroom window. She suspects that they belong to Mr. Polk's farm. Zora immediately wants to investigate and convinces Carrie to come with. Upon reaching the farm, they find Mr. Polk with a long gash on his arm. Shortly after, Old Lady Bronson, the local healer or seer shows up and tends to his wound. When Lady Bronson and Mr. Polk communicate in a language the girls don't understand, they're flabbergasted as Mr. Polk is well known for being mute. Mrs. Bronson makes a deal with the girls, she'll tell them a story in exchange for their silence about Mr. Polk being able to speak.

From there the story shifts back in time to 1855 where our second narrator, Lucia, an orphan serving girl and Prisca, the daughter to the gentleman Don Federico have just found out that Prisca's father has taken a new wife and they will be leaving the Dominican Republic to travel to their new home in Westin, Florida. Lucia has been a companion for Prisca for most of her life, the two are the best of friends, spending almost every waking moment in each others company. Yet, following the move to Florida, Lucia becomes a slave within the household. No longer can the two friends play together, now Lucia has chores and punishments if she doesn't perform her duties. Lucia tries to adapt to her new life, learning to survive by keeping her emotions and feelings in check but also lives in fear of angering those around her and having the atrocities she witnesses befall her. She tries very hard not to jeopardize the other slaves around her by not drawing attention to herself.

Zora & Me is really a story within a story that spans two time periods. In 1903, we find out the events that led to the attack on Mr. Polk and in 1855 learn about Lucia's life and struggles in Florida. I found Lucia's story to be the most impactful because of how accurately it portrayed the brutality of slavery, the emotions, feelings, and pain. The story makes slavery not just something that happened in the past, somewhere else, but something tangible. Images and characters that you won't forget. Some parts are sad, heartwrenching and difficult to read, but it is a very important story. I especially enjoyed the strong theme that "history is a living history, not something you just read in a book, that it is everything your life stood on." That even in 1903, the girls are facing events that occurred from the past, how they begin to see that the history of slavery is one based on a"hate and desire to have control or power over something seen as inferior." There are so many powerful messages within Zora & Me making this a valuable teaching tool.

The ending came together rather quickly for me, partially because I was so engrossed in Lucia's story, but it was important for the reader to be brought up to speed with the historical details of the Jim Crow Laws and Reconstruction to ensure they had the context to be able to follow the events occurring in Zora's hometown. I read this book in one sitting, it has such a riveting plot and I loved how Lucia's and Carrie's stories intertwined.

** ARC received from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review**

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

“ All of our lives altered because a boy wanted to prove to his father that he was man enough to own other human beings.” (Page 247)

So this is a brand new book that slipped in my To-Be-Read piles as it intrigued me, and is signed..this is the story of a young Zora Neale Hurston and her childhood in Eatonville, America’s first incorporated colored town established by twenty-seven black men soon after the Emancipation Proclamation--“Eatonville a place where Negroes lived outside of the will of white folks, and we only ever saw ourselves as a bright future” (Pg. 81)
“..We are living out Eatonville’s history as blindly as pawns in a century-old chess game. We were no more new or free than the land itself, but like all young people, we confused youth with beginning and our experience with knowledge” (Pg. 2)
The Zora Neale Hurston is introduced as an inquisitive child always looking for a story and to find out why—
“You know how my mind works—once a question starts a fire inside me, I have to answer it, no matter how bad I get burned. There ain’t no pain more painful than the pleasure I get from the light of the truth.” (Pg. 23)
I regret finding out that this is the 2nd book in the series as I hate reading out of sequence but this one seemed to be independent and every character is introduced well so I don’t feel like I missed anything though I do want to read the first one at some point. Alright so Zora and her best friend Carrie Brown are awakened one night by horses trampling through their yard and of course they rush out to find the mystery and run into a huge one—the town’s mute Mr. Polk is dazed and injured and when the town’s conjure woman Old Lady Bronson comes to tend his wounds he begins to speak. Though Mr. Polk does not speak coherent English the Old Lady is able to understand him and so starts this intriguing tale----
Why did Mr. Polk stop speaking in the first place?
What happened and who hurt him that night?
This is a story within a story circling back many times to the past of Eatonville and the slaves who lived there before and while it is played up brilliantly as a mystery once you read the slave story you can easily figure out the people but it was very well written and readable for middle school especially. There are such wonderful passages to reread, savor and think about like--
This was the moment when our color became our curse…(Pg. 221)
The family you are born to is your lifeblood, but the family you choose is your heart (Pg. 247)
Then I asked the question that I had been burning to ask my whole life. “Why do they hate us so much?” Old Lady Bronson reached down and took my chin her hand, firmly yet gently. “They have to hate because you can’t take another person’s freedom with love.” (Pg. 248)
I can’t wait to put this book in the hands of two lovely ladies in particular as what was also amazing is that there is a biography on the storyteller extraordinaire Zora Neale Hurston which I thought was especially rich to include as you want to know more and read more about this curious little girl. I love that it’s a series and I can’t wait to read more and sigh the first installment…Great read.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it any more perfect that the latest installment in a series starring a young Zora Neale Hurston is out right before Banned Book Month? Zora Neale Hurston's brilliant classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is both a staple on high school reading lists AND a book that's landed on Banned and Challenged lists since 1997.

Zora & Me is the story of young Zora Neale Hurston and her best friend, Carrie. The year is 1903, and the two live with their families in Eatonville, Florida, in the first African-American city to be incorporated in the state. Even as a child, Zora is every bit the storyteller, the grand designer of adventures; Carrie likes to play it safer, but always follows Zora into an escapade - or a mystery. In this second novel, author T.R. Simon examines hate, white privilege, and history. It begins when Mr. Polk, their mute neighbor, is attacked and his horses set loose. When the girls go investigate and help Mr. Polk, they discover he can speak - he speaks to Old Lady Bronson, a woman rumored to be a conjure woman. When Mr. Polk breaks his silence, it sets other pieces to a long-unsolved puzzle into motion. The narrative shifts between the events in 1903 and the story of a Lucia, a young woman sold into slavery in 1855. In 1903, Zora and Carrie discover an abandoned plantation mansion on Mr. Polk's property; at the same time, white men come to Eatonville and demand more of Mr. Polk's land, claiming a right to it. Tensions rise, and the people of Eatonville prepare to stand up for themselves and their home. As the narratives move back and forth, the puzzle comes together and everything becomes heartbreakingly clear.

Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground is intense and raw, with brutal honesty about slavery and its aftermath. T.R. Smith writes about the roots of racial violence and the "enduring wounds of slavery" that persist to this day. Zora Neale Hurston is an intelligent, headstrong 12-year-old, and Carrie finds her strength and voice. They're strong protagonists, strong African-American young women, and fully aware of the danger that whites present to them, even if slavery is now something they're only hearing about: many parents were born into slavery, and freed as very young children. This generation knows that they weren't "given" their freedom. They weren't given anything: they will fight for everything that is theirs. Lucia, the third main character in The Cursed Ground, tells a sharp, painful story about family lost and found; about freedom taken; about people who would diminish a whole race's humanity, and about discovering and defending one's sense of self. It's an incredible story. A biography of Zora Neale Hurston and a timeline of her life conclude this story. I hope to read more of Zora's and Carrie's adventures. This is definitely on my Newbery shortlist, and I hope it's on a Coretta Scott King Award shortlist, too. It's a must-add to historical fiction collections and would make a stellar African-American History Month reading assignment for classes.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fictionalized Zora Neale Hurston and her friend Carrie return to solve a second mystery tied to their town’s past and the dark history of slavery. The writing is beautiful and the themes are mature and complex. Happily for the sake of the story there are also strong characters and dramatic action.
“Honestly, Zora, maybe it ain’t for us to know. Maybe there’s some secrets folks just ought to keep.” She looked at me incredulously. “Carrie Brown, you can’t be serious. How on earth are we gonna suck the marrow out of life if we just sit by and let questions stroll down our street without inviting them in for a glass of lemonade.”

I love that there is a short biography of Zora Neal Hurston at the end. I teach a research unit on the Harlem Renaissance to fifth grade and their is NO good children’s biography of Hurston. This fills a grievous need.

Three quibbles, one of which is significant:
The beginning of Chapter 18, in a background scene establishing Teddy’s caring nature, he injures and then heals a wild hedgehog. THERE are NO HEDGEHOGS in the Americas. I have spent considerable time in rural Florida and have no experience of, and could find no evidence of, hedgehog being used as a colloquial name for a native animal. For a book with such a rich sense of place and which states explicitly ‘knowing the ways of the natural world is power.’ (Chapter 5) this is an error that should have been caught in editing and that needs correcting.
In chapter five is a scene that foreshadows future violence. Timothy Stevenson uses his rifle barrel to knock a moth to the ground and then twice strikes it with the barrel, killing it. No gun user would use the barrel of a gun to crush something on the ground - they would use the stock. To use the barrel would risk scratching the blueing that protects the steel from rust (a big deal) and, more importantly, risks driving dirt into the barrel. If you clog a barrel and then shoot a gun, it blows up in your face. Yes, Timothy is foolish and impulsive, but this passage feels like it was written without knowledge of how long guns are handled. Any gun user who reads this passage will be taken out of the story. (God willing there will be a lot in the South & Midwestern parts of this country where hunting is still a big deal.)
What happened to the ruby pendant Prisca gives to Lucia? As Chekov says, if you introduce a gun in the first act... i’d be fine with it being discovered in Lucia’s clothes and taken, or being the nest egg that helps Lucia later, but to introduce something so valuable and then let it drop feels sloppy. Maybe a future mystery?

[Jean Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writer did a great job setting up the atmosphere in most of the scenes. My mind’s eye saw a burgeoning town, given to stormy weather, moonlight and stars, humid, warm summers, farms and pastoral homes. I felt hopeful about this town, but right away I also felt trepidation for it, given the setup – and, of course, history. The pacing was brisk, and I like that it was a short novel that packed a good punch.

That’s some things I liked!

Sometimes, though, the kids’ language felt like affectations, I can’t lie. And, I think I felt the most emotional involvement in the scenes nearly 50 years before the main story, the ones set during actual slavery. I also hungered to see more needle-moving action from Zora, the titular character of the series. The story isn’t told from her perspective, I know, but being that she is the one whose actions are deemed worthy of narrative elevation, I wanted to see her as more the catalyst in the events of the story than she was. Instead, she and her best friend mostly flitted from place to place, more as curious busybodies and observers than anything. I know that they were just children, but I wanted at least a little bit more of the plot to turn on their actions.

I really liked that the book plies serious themes, particularly about the value and importance of place, land, home and ownership in the lives of strong, industrious and proud folks who happen to also be besieged people struggling at the hands of relentless thieves and terrorists.

I think I groaned a little bit at the end that it was turning into a kind of white savior narrative. I wanted the people for whom I’d been rooting to be able to do more in their story to bring about a conclusion to the story’s dilemmas, other than relying so much on another white man. That rang too neat and typical for my tastes, I’m afraid, maybe even pandering.

Oh that note, I ultimately did still enjoy the story. I bought “Zora and Me, The Cursed Ground” not realizing initially that it is part of a series. I enjoyed it enough so that I will get and read the first book in the series. Maybe that first book gives the child protagonists and their families more to do and more weight on the outcome of the events in their lives. I hope so! I know that this can be challenging to pull off, given the nature of slavery and Jim Crow. Forced black impotence was central to these institutions working against blacks and for whites. But it CAN be done and it can be done well. I hope it is so in the first book!

[Patricia Tilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

T.R. Simon skillfully captures the spirit of famous writer Zora Neale Hurston in this gripping and haunting story of her fictionalized childhood. In alternating chapters, he addresses the harsh realities of race in Jim Crow’s south in 1903, and slavery in 1855. Both Zora and Lucia’s stories are masterfully woven together until they culminate into one profound story. The narrative is rich and poetic and the dialogue is suspenseful and humorous. The plot is gripping and dangerous. The book cover is stunning!

The story is set in Eatonville, Florida, the first incorporated all black township in the United States. The historical facts about the town, with the only black mayor, is fascinating. It is out in the middle of nowhere. The black community lives peacefully together for many years enjoying their freedom, until trouble comes calling from some white men in a nearby town.

There are many multi-layered characters that are memorable. In the main story, Zora is bold, curious and an adventurous spirit. Her best friend Carrie knows that what ever problem or mystery they are chasing always “courts trouble.” Old Lady Bronson, who wears soldier boots, lives in solitude, and is the town healer, seer, wise woman and “witch.” Mr. Polk is mute, but has a gentle spirit and a gift for working with horses. The 1855 story characters are very compelling. Prisca, the daughter of a plantation owner, who seems naïve to slavery at first. Prisca’s best friend is Lucia, who she treats as her sister, even though she is a slave. Lucia shares many of the same luxuries as Prisca and can read and write. The truth about Lucia is revealed when Prisca’s father suddenly dies, and she is torn away from Prisca to be sold. Lucia is angry and struggles to not lose herself in her hatred. Horatio is a kind stable boy who plays a significant role in the story.

Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground is stunning, heart wrenching and inspiring. Simon’s deliberate pacing and tension will keep readers fully engaged. There are many surprises for readers.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free advanced copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

This is a powerful, well written historical fiction/mystery story that follows a fictionalized young Zora Neal Hurston as her and her friends find out some dark secrets about some of the adults in their town that are coming back to haunt them. The story is narrated by Zora’s best friend Carrie and begins at the turn of the 20th century with the pair finding the town mute Mr. Polk in trouble with a white landowner. The narrative then alternates between Zora and Carrie in 1903 and the story of Lucia who is a slave girl on a Florida plantation half a century earlier. The more we find out about Lucia, the more we learn that she’s a piece of the puzzle to help solve the problems surrounding Mr. Polk and the other residents in Zora’s home of Eatonville, FL, which was the first black incorporated town in America.
While a young Zora Neal Hurston is a main character of the book, the story deals more with the treatment of African Americans in the early 1900s and the horrors of slavery than the life of Hurston. Through Zora and Carrie’s thoughtful reflections on some of the terrible things they hear about the Eatonville residents who were born slaves (ex: whippings, families being sold apart, etc.), there’s some great discussions on the mentality and moral character of white landowners who could live with their cruel actions after abusing their slaves and treating them as property instead of people. Overall, even if young readers don’t know who Zora Neal Hurston is, this is a well written historical mystery, especially to tie in to a lesson on the terrible history and legacy of slavery. I also didn’t know until after I finished that this is a sequel. You do not have to read the first to enjoy this story and I enjoyed this one so much I will be reading the first.

[Tiana Hadnt · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS!!!!!!!

“We who thought we were free from the past were still living it out.”

This is a book about place. About home. About memory. About history. About stories. About protecting all those things. Zora and Me tells the story of Zora Neale Hurston and her friend Carrie, who discover one night that the town mute can talk. From there we have an exploration of slavery, of freedom, of revenge, and of a town called Eatonville.

I loved this book. I love the use of language, how the story itself flows like water. There are two stories here that overlap. The one of Zora and Carrie, set in 1903, and the one of an enslaved little girl named Lucie, set in 1855. The two tales are woven together perfectly. I grew to love and care for all of these people. I laughed, and I cried more than once.

This is not always an easy book to read. It deals with slavery and it doesn’t gloss over either any of the facts of that world nor the repercussions it had and is still having. There are statements in this book that were valid in 1855 and 1903, and are still, sadly, valid in 2018. It’s hard-hitting but not overdone. It will touch the heart of the reader and while it doesn’t always make for light, breezy reading, it does make for conscious thought and good conversations between children and adults of all ages.

Zora and Carrie are delightful. Their interaction is central to the story and it took me back to my own childhood of made up stories and getting into trouble. I grew to love Lucia and Horatio. There is so much emotion in this book. Fear, love, pride, sorrow, joy, and, most importantly, hope.

It has strong vibes of both “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” and “To Kill A Mockingbird” which are two of the best books ever written narrated by children. I’d recommend this book to any and everyone, and I’m ready for the next installment. A definite five star read.

Many thanks to Candlewick Press and Netgalley. I was given a free copy in exchange for an open and honest review.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Racial duplicity threatens an idyllic African American community in the turn-of-the-century South in a second novel inspired by the early life of Zora Neale Hurston. a fascinating slice of history. Eatonville, Florida, was ‘the first incorporated all-black township in the United States.’ That was in 1887. It was also the place where the family of Zora Neale Hurston, one of America’s most esteemed writers, moved in 1894, and where she grew up from the age of three years.
Now, a second adventure is coming September 11th, with Zora's family, the neighbors, the townspeople all here again, but the danger seems even more real. Carrie shares this story of a white man's challenge, a mystery that becomes connected as I read the chapters. Carrie's words alternate in chapters from Eatonville 1903 and a new place, Westin, in 1855, from where a young girl names Lucia tells another story. The children, Zora, Carrie, and Teddy, are all involved again, searching out new mysteries they did not know about their town and the people in it who were keeping them safe. Early in the story, Carrie says she didn't hold the scrapes they had against Zora, because "She made life in a town no bigger than a teacup feel like it held the whole world."
As the story unfolds, perhaps one can imagine it as connected to the whole world. Those with power try to take advantage of those who have little, yet also those who hold the goodness of human dignity above all else stand up to support despite the danger. Simon writes: "The men of Eatonville did not grow darker with the fading light; rather, they seemed to shine brighter in it." Later: "These men had fathered and made this town whole in spite of the hate of an entire nation." This time the tension is real, but the actions inspire.
Yes, like the first book, this second story is complex and a fascinating fictional adventure that I imagine Zora Neale Hurston would have loved.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woven in simple yet intricate ways, this is a tale with impact and will stay with the reader long after the last page.

The author has set two stories next to each other and lets them weave back and forth. One concerns Zora and her best friend Carrie as they discover the town's mute can actually speak and try to discover the truth behind his hidden ability. The other takes places around 50 years before as Lucia, a slave girl, struggles to survive and maybe seek her own freedom. The stories flow in two different times, but each one is as grabbing as the other. While Zora and Carrie are a delight to accompany in their adventure and attempt to uncover the truth, Lucia's story pulls at the heart-strings. It's well crafted and draws in.

Each character is to love or to hate. While Zora is willful, full of spice and even humorous, Carrie sits more serious and makes a perfect counter weight. The two have a beautiful friendship, and it's impossible not to wish that both were real and the reader's best friends. Lucia, on the other side, hits the topic of slavery square on. Her life is harsh, and it's impossible not to feel for her and cheer for her even when she faces horrible odds. The other characters each win their own place, and the 'bad' ones definitely are begging to be disliked. It's a lovely cast with tons of heart.

While this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a stand alone (although after reading this, I am going to head back to the first as well). The author has done a fantastic job and bringing two tales together, while hitting the gut and leaving tons of food for thought. It's a series worth reading and one that belongs in the classroom.

I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley and was so engaged in these tales that I had to leave my honest thoughts.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review has MAJOR spoilers. You've been warned.

This book is sure to stick with me.

Beautifully told, rich in imagery and mystery.

Fictionalized adventures of young Zora Neale Hurston.

This book confronts the end of slavery and enduring racism. I think it is summed up best in this sentence:

"Why do they hate us so much?"

Old Lady Bronson reached down and took my chin in her hand, firmly yet gently. "They hate us so much because you can't take another person's freedom with love."

This book is beautifully told, weaving together two seemingly separate stories of the past and present ("present," being 1903). Tells the story of Zora and her friend Carrie trying to solve a mystery as the threat of an angry mob encroaches on their doorstep. Also tells the story of Lucia and Prisca. Lucia, a young black girl, was born free on the island of Hispaniola and brought into slavery when she arrives in Florida in the 1850s. Prisca, a young white girl, who was once Lucia's playmate and partner in crime becomes Lucia's "owner." When it is revealed that Lucia is going to be sold to pay Prisca's dowry (and the startling revelation that Lucia and Prisca are half-sisters), Prisca devises a plan for their escape.

Full of jaw-droppingly beautiful prose and achingly poignant quotes.

Another one of my favorites:

"Mama always said, 'Ain't no one ever got dumber trying to answer a question.'" And I intend to answer all life's questions.

*librarian squee*

---

This book deals with seriously heavy topics. Trigger Warnings: Slavery, racism, discussions of lynching (none onscreen), violence against slaves (particularly beating, whipping, and mental/emotional abuse), discussions and graphic depictions of the aftermath of torture.

Recommended for middle schoolers. Possibly even 5th grade, for a particularly mature 5th grader.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Carrie/Zora portion of the story likely would have been a richer experience had I read the first book in this series with the introduction of their characters and their friendship, otherwise, there’s no problem reading this as a standalone.

The Cursed Ground is told in dual timelines, 1903 and 1855. The start of each chapter makes it clear which era you’re in so there’s never any confusion.

I enjoyed how zealous and curious Zora (based on real-life author Zora Neale Hurston) is, and twelve year old Carrie’s burgeoning feelings for her friend Teddy (there isn’t a big romance so readers not into that need not worry), felt realistic with the mix of embarrassment and excitement bubbling inside her. I also liked that the adult characters rarely talk down to these girls, if I were a kid reader, it’s an aspect of the storytelling I’d appreciate, especially when it comes to the very necessary conversations about race.

I didn’t feel like I got to know best friends Carrie and Zora quite as well as I did the other heroine, Lucia in 1855, though that’s understandable given that while Carrie and Zora are very concerned about what’s going on in their small community and bravely insert themselves into the mystery, they’re still somewhat apart from it, whereas with Lucia, the reader is right there with her as she endures sudden enslavement with the cruelty and all too few moments of tenderness that follow, as well as the complicated turns a close relationship takes, so Lucia’s timeline can’t help but feel more personal, more involving.

With slavery and a couple animal situations, this is sometimes an emotionally difficult read as it should be given the subject matter, don’t be surprised if it elicits a tear or two.


I received this book through a giveaway.

[Dani Israelsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zora & me: The Cursed Ground is a historical-fiction for middle-grade readers, that takes place around the real life of Zora Neale Hurston, the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, as a child and her best friend, Carrie. The story changes perspective every few chapters between Carrie’s point-of-view in 1903, and a slave named Lucia in 1855, weaving the story of the cursed ground, and the connection between the two time periods.

Zora & Me is filled with teaching tools and is done so in such a way that will make it fun for young readers (the intended audience) to learn the lessons being taught without realizing they are learning. This is a great book to not only learn some history about the way slaves were treated, but to also help the current and future generations learn and understand what human and moral integrity are, and how to put away the hate, and to honor and love one another.

While I highly recommend that anyone who teaches middle-grade English assign Zora & Me to be read during Black History Month (February), I also highly recommend for it to be read anytime throughout the year and by anyone, no matter your age or race.

“‘Why do they hate us so much?”
Old Lady Bronson reached down and took my chin in her hand, firmly yet gently. ‘They have to hate because you can’t take another person’s freedom with love.’
It was such a simple answer, yet it contained a universe of truth.”  
--Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground, Chapter Twenty-One

 

Dani's Score out of 5: 📚📚📚📚📚 (5/5)


*** Thank you to the author, TR Simon, NetGalley, and Candlewick Press for giving me a copy of ZORA & ME: THE CURSED GROUND in exchange for my honest review. ***

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The premise of "Zora and Me" unites many of the things I love so much about middle grade fiction. First of all, the fictionalized story mirrors events that were certainly commonplace for that time in history. The setting, circumstances, and racial tension within the community felt tangible and real; fear, love, loyalty, and hate leap off the pages and into the reader's heart.

Secondly, a real person, Zora Neale Hurston, is brought to life outside the pages of her own writing. The author, T.R. Simon, gives her audience a glimpse into the events and relationships that helped shaped Hurston into the woman and writer she eventually came to be. Young readers get the opportunity to meet her and get to know her before they will ever pick up her books and stories for themselves.

Third, "Zora and Me" features real kids facing difficult situations. Carrie and Zora's curiosity is often rewarded with opportunities for discovery and expands their views of a complicated world. Their loyalty, friendships, and characters are tested in the face of danger but courage (usually) reigns supreme.

Overall, "Zora and Me: The Cursed Ground" is a compelling fictional account of a dangerous period in our country's history. I appreciated Simon's ability to humbly guide her readers into a space where they could observe the lasting legacy of slavery and its impact on collective memory. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages!

[Karen McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of #LitReviewCrew. I have not read Zora and Me #1, although it only took two pages into the Prologue that I stopped reading and immediately ordered Zora and Me. I have not read it yet, though, and I believe that The Cursed Ground can stand alone as a story.

T.R. Simon does an amazing job of explaining (and then showing through her story) that social justice means recognizing that the past affects our communities today. We must understand the past to understand our world, and we must work to fight for what we know is true and right, not just assume that if we don't support racism and injustice that is enough.

Simon immediately hooks the reader with an urgent night-time mystery in 1903 in Eatonville, Florida. Zora and her best friend Carrie find Mr. Polk injured and his horses running free. When they go to investigate, they find that even though he is the town mute, he can speak a language they don't understand when the local conjure women comes to his aid. What follows is the unraveling of the mystery of what happened to Mr. Polk that night and why.

With a separate narrative set in Westin 1855, we learn the story of Lucia, and orphan from Haiti who is brought to America as a slave. As Lucia's story unfolds, we begin to see why events from 50 years ago still haunt Eatonville.

As the two stories merge, the characters are headed for a heap of trouble unless someone can stop it. Told with heart, unforgettable characters, powerful voices, and a true look at what slavery really is, you will find yourself thinking about the story long after you finish it. This is one that will stick with me and change who I am.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of this novel courtesy of Candlewick Press via NetGalley.

Release Date: September 11th, 2018

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Genre: Children's Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 / 5

Story Line:

Zora and her best friend Carrie discover that the town mute can actually speak after all. They believe this is the biggest secret they could have uncovered, but over time they realize it's just one small piece of a much larger mystery.  This mystery spans generations and alternates between Carrie's point of view and the view of a young girl thrust into slavery many years before Carrie and Zora were born.  Eventually the two stories beautifully begin to come together as the reader realizes how the two narratives are intertwined. 

The Good:

This book was incredible. Historical fiction is not my go-to genre, but this book fully immersed me into the time period and fell in love with the rich history it was able to bring to life.  The target audience is children and middle grade, but it is a great read at any level.  Zora is based on a real person, so this book will introduce many readers to the incredible person that is Zora Neale Hurston.  This book told history in a way that was personal and heartbreaking.  It allowed for a great empathy connection to the characters and amazed me from beginning to end.  

The Bad:

I honestly can't think of anything to say against this novel. I've never enjoyed a historical fiction book more in my life. My only regret was letting it sit on my Kindle shelf for so long.

The Bottom Line:

Give this book a chance, regardless of your genre preferences.  You won't regret it.