About the Book

In When Stars Rain Down, Angela Jackson-Brown introduces readers to a small, Southern town grappling with haunting questions still relevant today---and to a young woman whose search for meaning resonates across the ages.

Book Synopsis

In When Stars Rain Down, Angela Jackson-Brown introduces readers to a small, Southern town grappling with haunting questions still relevant today--and to a young woman whose search for meaning resonates across the ages.

This summer has the potential to change everything.

The summer of 1936 in Parsons, Georgia, is unseasonably hot, and Opal Pruitt senses a nameless storm brewing. She hopes this foreboding feeling won't overshadow her upcoming eighteenth birthday or the annual Founder's Day celebration in just a few weeks. She and her Grandma Birdie work as housekeepers for the white widow Miss Peggy, and Opal desperately wants some time to be young and carefree with her cousins and friends.

But when the Ku Klux Klan descends on Opal's neighborhood, the tight-knit community is shaken in every way possible. Parsons's residents--both Black and white--are forced to acknowledge the unspoken codes of conduct in their post-Reconstruction era town. To complicate matters, Opal finds herself torn between two unexpected romantic interests--the son of her pastor, Cedric Perkins, and the grandson of the woman she works for, Jimmy Earl Ketchums. Both young men awaken emotions Opal has never felt before.

"When Stars Rain Down is so powerful, timely, and compelling that sometimes I found myself holding my breath while reading it. Rarely have I been so attached to characters and felt so transported to a time and place. This is an important and beautifully written must-read of a novel. Opal is a character I will never forget." --Silas House, author of Southernmost

"Angela Jackson-Brown interrogates race, love and family with empathy and style, making her an author you will want to read again and again. This tale of America's tragic past is both compelling and cinematic as the Pruitt and Ketchum families struggle in the mire of racism in the 1930s. It's a moving novel that boldly illuminates the past but also speaks directly to today's politics and the power of faith. You will fall in love with the book's resilient protagonist Opal. I certainly did." --Crystal Wilkinson, author of The Birds of Opulence

"In this world there are writers and there are artists. Angela Jackson-Brown is both." --Sean Dietrich (Sean of the South), author of Stars of Alabama

• Southern historical story
• Stand-alone novel
• Book length: 101,000 words
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Review Quotes

'Along the way, [Jackson-Brown] deals with a series of issues: racism, teenage love, the death of our elders. These issues are not just talked through. Jackson-Brown the dramatist presents them in a series of carefully crafted scenes, almost one-act plays. Once in a while, one reads a novel and can already see the film to be made from it.'--Alabama Public Radio

'Jackson-Brown (House Repairs) paints a vivid picture of family and community persevering in the pressure cooker of the Deep South . . . This is a powerful Own Voices contribution to the historical fiction genre, joining titles such as Alka Joshi's The Henna Artist and Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek in their unflinching look at the past.'--Library Journal, starred review

Angela Jackson Brown interrogates race, love and family with empathy and style, making her an author you will want to read again and again. This tale of America's tragic past is both compelling and cinematic as the Pruitt and Ketchum families struggle in the mire of racism in the 1930s. It's a moving novel that boldly illuminates the past but also speaks directly to today's politics and the power of faith. You will fall in love with the book's resilient protagonist Opal. I certainly did.----Crystal Wilkinson, author of The Birds of Opulence

In this world there are writers and there are artists. Angela Jackson-Brown is both.----Sean Dietrich (Sean of the South), author of Stars of Alabama

When Stars Rain Down is so powerful, timely, and compelling that sometimes I found myself holding my breath while reading it. Rarely have I been so attached to characters and felt so transported to a time and place. This is an important and beautifully written must-read of a novel. Opal is a character I will never forget.----Silas House, author of Southernmost