Through the eyes of the main characters, Ruby, a high school student who came from a lineage of uneducated women who spent their lives on their feet and knees cleaning up after white people was determined to break the chains of what seemed to be her destiny: a lifetime of callused hands, struggle, and poverty, and Eleanor a freshman at Howard University and the daughter of struggling working-class parents we witness the struggles, obstacles, and triumphs of Ruby and Eleanor at completely different times in their lives.

The story alternates between Ruby’s struggle to make it to Cheney University and Eleanor’s struggle to fit in amongst Harvard’s black bourgeoisie. Their common denominator was falling in love with men society deemed them unworthy of being with.  With obtaining an education as their beacon of hope to living the life of their dreams, they were both determined not to allow those dreams to evaporate into society’s low expectations of them. Shame, secrets, breaking societal norms, and exceeding society’s expectations eventually bound the two together in a perfect ending.

The character development was impeccable…the characters leaped from the pages! The storytelling was cohesive...it just flowed! I love historical fiction and this book did not disappoint. Black Excellence! I highly recommend it!