Happy Land
A 2026 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
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 ∙ ELLE ∙ 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.
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 ∙ ELLE ∙ 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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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Happy Land* by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a powerful, soul-stirring historical novel that vividly reclaims a vital chapter of Black legacy. ...
Happy Land was a fantastic story that immediately drew me in. The writing carried a sense of elegance that made me feel like royalty as I turned each page. Beyond the beauty of the storytelling, it sparked a deeper curiosity in me about my own history and heritage. This book wasn’t just entertaining, it was inspiring. It reminded me how powerful stories can be in connecting us to the past while empowering us in the present.
This is both a wonderful work of historical fiction and a coming of age story. I loved learning about Happy Land and following this story of a family finding their way back to each other and the land that sustained their ancestors.
Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a powerful, soul-stirring novel that left an indelible mark on my heart. This book is a gift. It was both a moving work of fiction and a deep well of untold African American history. Perkins-Valdez brilliantly brings to light a chapter of Black legacy that has too often been buried or forgotten, the heartbreaking story of land that was once ours, lost to injustice, yet never stripped of its sacredness.
The story gripped me from beginning to end, weaving sorrow and resilience in equal measure. The loss of land and legacy deeply saddened me. Yet, I was overwhelmingly inspired by the spirit of the characters, especially the strength, dignity, and unshakable will to endure and thrive. Their determination to preserve memory and fight for justice is a profound tribute to the generations who came before us.
Mother Rita was my favorite character. She reminded me so much of the elders I grew up around, wise, steadfast, and full of quiet power. She felt like home. Reading her story brought tears to my eyes and memories of the ancestors whose stories, strength, and spirit still live in us.
Perkins-Valdez’s writing is both lyrical and grounded, filled with empathy and purpose. She doesn't just tell a story, she reclaims a history. Happy Land is a necessary read for anyone who wants to understand the richness and pain of the African American experience, and how we continue to stand tall despite the attempts to erase our legacy.
I highly, highly recommend this book. It’s not just a novel, it’s a remembrance, a resistance, and a restoration.
The story gripped me from beginning to end, weaving sorrow and resilience in equal measure. The loss of land and legacy deeply saddened me. Yet, I was overwhelmingly inspired by the spirit of the characters, especially the strength, dignity, and unshakable will to endure and thrive. Their determination to preserve memory and fight for justice is a profound tribute to the generations who came before us.
Mother Rita was my favorite character. She reminded me so much of the elders I grew up around, wise, steadfast, and full of quiet power. She felt like home. Reading her story brought tears to my eyes and memories of the ancestors whose stories, strength, and spirit still live in us.
Perkins-Valdez’s writing is both lyrical and grounded, filled with empathy and purpose. She doesn't just tell a story, she reclaims a history. Happy Land is a necessary read for anyone who wants to understand the richness and pain of the African American experience, and how we continue to stand tall despite the attempts to erase our legacy.
I highly, highly recommend this book. It’s not just a novel, it’s a remembrance, a resistance, and a restoration.
I’m just a few books into my newfound love for historical fiction and I really enjoyed this one. I like how this one connected the current day to the historical past. It definitely left me wondering how real the “happy land” could be.
𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅 is a remarkable novel. Perkins Valdez ability to weave this narrative between a century of time yet not lose her reader is exceptional. Her primary storytellers are imbued with a strength and depth of love that is formidable.
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
* Robert Montgomery - He broke my heart; and healed it.
* Mr. Weaver - 🤬
* Chapter 36 - Brought me to tears and filled my heart with a sorrowful heaviness. Not because Perkins-Valdez makes some unbelievable disclosures, quite the contrary, it is because this type of harm against Black people is not only a truism, but it continues 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦! I had to put the book down at the end of this chapter and gather myself.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥:
* Learning about Heir Property and, I am now on a quest to learn more.
* The strength of the women.
* The ease of her writing
* DPV is an amazing storyteller - wow!
𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭:
𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅 i is my very first Perkins-Valdez novel. I’ve already recommended it and am excited to read more.
This is another of those novels that you simply will not want to put it down. I began it last night and finished it this evening—surprising myself!
Thank you Perkins-Valdez - what a great novel. Indeed one I can read more than once.
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