Angel of Greenwood

A Junior Library Guild Selection

“The romantic love in [Angel of Greenwood] is big and beautiful and pure. And beyond the love between two teenagers, there's a deep love of community and home. Greenwood feels so wholesome, so idyllic, and when the hate breaks through, it will break your heart . . . I hope teachers assign this in schools and librarians turn it face-out on the shelves. American kids need to know this history to be good citizens.”—National Public Radio (NPR)

"The tragedy of Greenwood is made especially palpable here not only in the depiction of the violence but also in the portrayal of the thriving, successful, neighborly place that it is before the massacre. Isaiah and Angel give solid representations of their two at-odds idols, with Isaiah examining how the double consciousness of Blackness affects every relationship he has, including with Angel. Their romance gives a touch of softness to what ultimately feels like a timely cautionary tale for the nation’s current racial reckoning."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The climax of the book is utterly devastating, tragic, and heartbreaking. Pink reclaims untold stories from the past, giving names and faces to the lives stolen a century ago in moving and vivid detail, while still managing to engender hope and survival, a message that will certainly hit differently for different readers."—Culturess

"This harrowing fictional account of Black community action centers the eve of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre . . . Rich in its discussion of Black literature, this novel brilliantly juxtaposes a lighthearted story of young Black love with a deft reminder that such beauty has often been violently seized from Black people, and that these instances deserve remembrance."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)