Tangleroot - by Kalela Williams

About the Book

The acclaimed INDIES INTRODUCE and INDIE NEXT debut YA novel about blood and family that is both history and mystery, perfect for fans of Angeline Boulley and Jesmyn Ward.

★ "A gripping and heartbreaking debut." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Book Synopsis

The acclaimed INDIES INTRODUCE and INDIE NEXT debut YA novel about blood and family that is both history and mystery, perfect for fans of Angeline Boulley and Jesmyn Ward.

★ "A gripping and heartbreaking debut." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Noni Reid has grown up in the shadow of her mother, Dr. Radiance Castine, renowned scholar of Black literature, who is alarmingly perfect at just about everything.

When Dr. Castine takes a job as the president of the prestigious Stonepost College in rural Virginia, Noni is forced to leave her New England home and, most importantly, a prime internship and her friends. She and her mother move into the "big house" on Tangleroot Plantation.

Tangleroot was built by one of Noni's ancestors, an enslaved man named Cuffee Fortune--who Dr. Castine believes was also the original founder of Stonepost College, and that the school was originally formed for Black students. Dr. Castine spends much of her time trying to piece together enough undeniable truth in order to change the name of the school in Cuffee's honor--and to force the university to reckon with its own racist past.

Meanwhile, Noni hates everything about her new home, but finds herself morbidly fascinated by the white, slaveholding family who once lived in it. Slowly, she begins to unpeel the layers of sinister history that envelop her Virginia town, her mother's workplace, her ancestry--and her life story as she knew it. Through it all, she must navigate the ancient prejudices of the citizens in her small town, and ultimately, she finds herself both affirming her mother's position and her own--but also discovering a secret that changes everything.

Review Quotes

An INDIES NEXT Selection
An INDIES INTRODUCE Selection
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

★ "In this mystery set in the rural South, a teen from Wellesley, Massachusetts, faces racist legacies and the enduring implications of enslavement. .... Each well-chosen detail Williams includes of Noni's daily life, quest for autonomy, and search for answers is essential to this coming-of-age story. Racism, past and present, adds palpable tension as Noni brings her family's true history to light and reckons with her own sense of identity. A gripping and heartbreaking debut." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "A contemporary Black teen digs into the mysteries and secrets of family heritage in this complex debut. ....Williams' work is one to keep an eye on." -- Booklist, starred review

"A spell-binding YA novel filled with mystery and intrigue that is a definite page-turner."--Essence

"Williams has carefully crafted an intricate narrative of family, history, and the haunting legacy of slavery in the American South."--BCCB

About the Author

Kalela Williams has always loved books, cats, and history. As a child, she began scrawling stories in marbled composition books. As a teenager, she'd blow out her birthday candles and wish for a greater light--to illuminate history through fiction, which makes her debut novel, Tangleroot, literally a dream come true. Kalela has made a career in literary events, directing everything from the citywide read program One Book, One Philadelphia, to the Virginia Festival of the Book. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Kalela now lives in the central Virginia town of Staunton with her partner, with who she runs a story-centered organization, The Off Center. Kalelawilliams.com