Black Cake in On The Same Page

Feb 07, 2022 Natalie [genreneutralreader] rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Thanks to the publisher for an advance ecopy of Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson.

Black Cake was the perfect book to start my February! It was an intriguing, uplifting book about two siblings navigating their mother's death, their own differences , and the mysterious recording their mom left as part of their inheritance.

People misunderstand each other and this novel portrays that so well...how easy it is to judge other's motives when you don't really know what is going on with them. The novel Thanks to the publisher for an advance ecopy of Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson.

Black Cake was the perfect book to start my February! It was an intriguing, uplifting book about two siblings navigating their mother's death, their own differences , and the mysterious recording their mom left as part of their inheritance.

People misunderstand each other and this novel portrays that so well...how easy it is to judge other's motives when you don't really know what is going on with them. The novel also masterfully portrays the frustration and futility of hanging on to resentment and hurt. In fact, part of the reason I couldn't give the novel 5 stars instead of 4 was because I just could not imagine how Benny reacted to her father's response to her big reveal of her sexuality. I completely understood why she would be so hurt, but I can't believe that given what he said was more of an ignorant statement than a rejection as well as his age, as well as the fact that she laid it on him without warning, it seemed to me, a better character would have given him a second chance rather than running away and turning on her whole family. Readers who read the scene rather than just my review will know what I am talking about. I guess it is because in my personal experience, most people I know who have sexuality that is anything outside the "traditional" one have a little patience with their family when they tell them. It is not owed to the family, necessarily, but in the case of an otherwise loving family, it just would have made more sense if Benny hadn't rejected her whole family over one comment her father made.

I loved Eleanor's back story. Set first on an unnamed Caribbean island, then continuing on into England, then finally America, her story was a well rounded, mysterious story that really educated me on things I didn't even know about and now I want to know more. Her story was also full of love; romantic love, sacrificial love, and love between a mother and her children.

Byron's story was a very current theme of struggling up and creating opportunities as well as the frustration of losing out on the job he deserves or even choosing a less flashy car than he can afford simply to avoid police attention as a black man given the frequency with which he gets pulled over.

Each character was relatable and both likeable and unlikeable in turns. Eleanor and her best friend Bunny were my favorite characters, but I thought all the characters introduced in the story added to it. I would recommend Black Cake to book clubs as well as anyone who enjoys reading about other cultures. The author was inspired by her Jamaican ties, and that is an area I haven't read too many novels about.

And the obvious question: Who read this book and didn't finish it craving to try the famous black cake at the center of this story???? ...more

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Jan 26, 2025 Kristine marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2022-new-releases, books-about-families-siblings-frien, challenge-12-4-books, historical-fiction, read-with-jenna, countries-usa, fiction, fiction-and-literature, culture-african-american-or-african, mysteries-and-thrillers

I bought this book the day it came out. I heard it was Terrific. I just read Charmaine Wilkerson’s new book, Good Dirt, my review if interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
thought it was incredible. So, going through my stack of books I have and placing it on the Top.

Definitely, 💯 Going to Read! ...more

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Sep 01, 2022 Kelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-with-jenna

Loved the flow of this book and the character development. So many intertwined themes! Very sorry when it ended. Hope to see more by this new author very soon.

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Dec 24, 2022 Cloda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Best book of the year

There are so many reasons why this easily became my favorite this year. It’s more than just being of Caribbean descent. I learned so much and relived parts of my childhood and growing up in California.

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