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Happy Land
A woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom—and her family’s ties to it—in this enthralling novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Image Award-winning author of Take My Hand.
As featured in The Washington Post ∙ People ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ NPR ∙ TODAY ∙ PopSugar ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ SheReads ∙ Woman’s World ∙ Real Simple ∙ BookBrowse ∙ and more!
Nikki hasn’t seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can.
But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen.
It sounds like the makings of a fairy tale—royalty among a community of freed people. But the more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family’s secrets are wrapped up in these hills. Because this land is their legacy, and it will be up to her to protect it before it, like so much else, is stolen away.
Inspired by true events, Happy Land is a transporting multi-generational novel about the stories that shape us and the dazzling courage it takes to dream.
As featured in The Washington Post ∙ People ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ NPR ∙ TODAY ∙ PopSugar ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ SheReads ∙ Woman’s World ∙ Real Simple ∙ BookBrowse ∙ and more!
Nikki hasn’t seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can.
But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen.
It sounds like the makings of a fairy tale—royalty among a community of freed people. But the more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family’s secrets are wrapped up in these hills. Because this land is their legacy, and it will be up to her to protect it before it, like so much else, is stolen away.
Inspired by true events, Happy Land is a transporting multi-generational novel about the stories that shape us and the dazzling courage it takes to dream.
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Community Reviews
Let us admire this stunning cover! Gorgeous and vibrant!
In the 1800s, a resilient group of freed slaves built their refuge in the Carolina Mountains, and named it The Kingdom of the Happy Land.
The story introduces us to 2 strong FMCs, Louella and Nicki. Queen Luella’s POV was discovering and developing the land (1800s), and Nikki was her legacy who would try to save the land (present day). I loved the connection between these two time periods and I really leaned into the present day sections about Heiress Property.
This piqued my interest when I read about it in Wanda Morris', What You Leave Behind. See how these books are eye opening?!
This story was very well done, informative, and full of hope. I finished reading it feeling a need to connect more with my family’s history and Black history. There are so many remarkable untold stories lost in the shuffle. Although, there was one piece of the story surrounding Louella, William and Robert that I had a hard time believing.
I admired the deep sense of community, pride and resourcefulness shown in the Happy Landers! I wanted to read more of how they came together and journeyed to the mountains & obstacles along the way.
I had no idea about the Happy Land until I read The American Queen by Vanessa Miller last year. It was one of my top reads of 2024.
I had a hard time trying not to compare the 2 books. Both are similar, yet very different based on true history. Keep in mind these authors are building a world centered around Queen Louella with limited records available so each author had to dig deep and create a story that felt pliable.
I had a great buddy read/chat with some booksta buds. The audiobook was a fantastic complement to the book! The narrators really made the characters feel real and engaging!
I’m beyond thrilled that more authors are shining a light on such rich and important history! I hope we get more stories about The Happy Land—until it’s something everyone’s talking about and people finally learn the amazing history that’s been kept out of sight for too long. Knowledge is power 🤎
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