I received this as a giveaway but after it was published - the book is not an advance reader copy. Thank you Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

This is my first time reading anything by this author. The book takes place in the 1960s in Charlotte, North Carolina. Specifically, in a neighborhood of Charlotte called Brooklyn. There is wealth and poverty in Brooklyn, like any other area. Brooklyn is a predominantly black neighborhood.

Loraylee Hawkins shares a home with her son, Hawk, her Uncle Ray and her grandmother, Bibi. Loraylee works at a cafeteria in Brooklyn and she is in love with the cafeteria's manager, Archibald Griffin, who is not only Hawk's father but a white man.

The city has plans to bulldoze her neighborhood and is sending out letters to residents giving them a timeframe to relocate. This means not just houses but also the churches and a cemetery are being demolished.

This is a well-written book and draws you in to the story of Loraylee and the other members of Brooklyn. You want them to succeed in finding a new place to live. You cry with them and you laugh with them. ( )

Anna Jean Mayhew's latest novel, TOMORROW'S BREAD, is a work of southern fiction that pulls quietly, persistently at the heart. The story's time is 1961, the setting an almost all black community nestled within the greater city of Charlotte, North Carolina, known as Brooklyn, a self-sufficient, thriving, close knit neighborhood where families have lived for generations.

Times are changing, progress is on the march and with it comes the idea that Brooklyn is not good for Charlotte. "Blight" is the word used to describe the area, yet for those who only know it as home, it is their safe haven. Houses are to be torn down, residents moved from the only place they've ever lived, and their sense of unity, belonging, is sure to be broken. It is shocking, what will they do? Where will they go? Mayhew perfectly captures the essence of how this must seem to the inhabitants with this quote at the beginning of one of her chapters. It is from Langston Hughes who said, "Misery is when you heard on the radio that the neighborhood you live in is a slum, but you always thought it was home."

From the very first page, I was eager to spend time with Loraylee Hawkins, her young, bi-racial son, Hawk, her grandmother, Bibi, and Uncle Ray, the pastor Eben Polk, and all the rest, because they were realistic, and became characters I cared about. Mayhew has given us a wonderful, original account of a time that reminded me of another place similar to Brooklyn, the small community known as Soul City in Warren County NC. Mayhew's TOMORROWS' BREAD is a story that is pertinent even today, a distinctive work at once engaging and provocative. ( )

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley ages ago and finally got around to reading it. I'm glad I did - it was a well written story full of hope, history and interesting characters. I loved The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew and encourage anyone who enjoyed it to read this as well. ( )

The cover of this book is what made me want to read it. I did not even read to see what the book was about. The story was kind of slow starting out, but not to the point of wanting to put it down. If your looking for a lite, easy read this is it. Its just a story, nothing suspenseful or exciting to keep you on the edge of your seat but the story itself was good. Sometimes it's just nice to read a story that is like sitting down with a new friend and having them tell you about there life. That's what I felt with this one. The characters where all like able and I really felt like I wanted to get to know them better.
I gave it 3 stars ( )

In the early 60s, many large cities started a plan called urban renewal - it was a way to make space for the new large buildings that they planned in the future. In many places, urban renewal meant displacement of the people who lived in the neighborhoods that were being destroyed to make way for the future. Tomorrow's Bread is about urban renewal in Charlotte, NC, where an entire area was wiped out called Brooklyn. The residents of Brooklyn were mostly black and poor but they had a community of friends and a pride in their area that had existed there since the end of the civil war.

This story is told from three viewpoints - Loraylee who lives in a home with her mother, her uncle and her son. She is in love with the white manager of the cafeteria she works at and he is the father of her son - something that had to stay secret during this time. Pastor Ebenezer Polk is the leader of a church that will be demolished with a graveyard that must be moved. There is also a white viewpoint from the wife of one of the men on the planning board who are in charge of the demolition of Brooklyn. She feels the wrongness but knows that there is little she can do. With these three divergent voices, we learn about how urban renewal will affect the families of the people who have lived in Brooklyn for generations. I especially enjoyed the life journey that Loraylee was on. She worked full time, took care of her son and her senile mother but still tried to do the best she could for her neighbors and friends. She knew that leaving Brooklyn would be difficult because generations had lived there and supported each other through the years.

This was a well-written, well-researched novel about a little known area of Charlotte, NC in the 1960s. After I finished the book, I wanted more information about it and found several interesting articles. I love it when I enjoy a book and also learn about a part of history that I had no idea happened. This is one of those books - you will love these characters and ache with them as they leave their old lives behind and work to create new lives in areas very different from the life they've always known.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. ( )