Sanite, enslaved to a businessman in the French Quarter, struggles against the bonds of slavery. When she walks into the Mockingbird Inn she meets Lenore, a free black woman. The two become friends and Lenore invites her to join a secret society called the Daughters. The Daughters spy and pass their information on to the abolitionists and others fighting against the south.

The book had an odd format, which I did not really like. The beginning was extremely rough, where the story moved back and forth in time without really presenting the characters. Once the book settled on a younger Ady, it began to draw my interest. Overall, I think the book seemed haphazard and ill planned. 3 out of 5 stars. ( )

In antebellum New Orleans, a woman and her young daughter are sold to a man who wants them to care for his townhouse. He spends much of his time at his slave labor camp, called a plantation, a day's ride from the city with his family. I don't want to give any of the plot away, except that it encompasses both terrible hardship and abuse, as well as love and women in unendurable circumstances finding ways to fight back. The novel changes in tone decidedly partway through, one half being an account of a girl growing up enslaved, and the second part being a rousing adventure story.

The center of this book is the city of New Orleans, a place where slavery thrived, human beings were bought and sold, but also a place where some Black people were free and had a vibrant culture of their own. Maurice Carlos Ruffin excels in both making the horror of slavery evident, without that horror feeling exploitative, and in emphasizing the agency and humanity of those who were enslaved. And I love the title, The American Daughters, and how it claims that title for its brave Black women, both enslaved and free, working to prevent the Confederacy from winning the war. ( )

Review of Advance Reader’s Copy

Ady [Adebimpe] and her mother, Sanite, sold to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans, are sometimes leased to others while he, John du Marche, is away. It is a difficult life for the two, made more so by the cruel treatment slavery brings.

When Ady and Sanite are separated, Ady has the good fortune of meeting a free black woman, Lenore. Through her, Ady learns about the Daughters, a secret society of spies.

Will Ady join the Daughters? And will she one day find a path to freedom?

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The discovery of Ady’s journal is, according to the prologue, the impetus for the telling of this tale. Unsettling and often cringe-worthy, the narrative shines a line on the cruel and harsh treatment of slaves. What is endured is often painful to read about, difficult to imagine it being endured in real life.

The women are strong characters; The Daughters is an intriguing group that, sadly, almost seems to be an afterthought in the telling of this tale. Readers are likely to wish for more of the narrative to focus on the work of the spy ring as the women battled the Confederacy.

Readers may find the futuristic epilogue a strange choice for concluding the story preceding it. While the historical details are important, the epilogue feels, in many ways, as if it trivializes Ady’s story.

I received a free copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group –-- Random House, One World and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#TheAmericanDaughters #NetGalley ( )

This historical fiction, told primarily through Ady's diary, is a vivid portrait of slavery up to and during the Civil War. From her childhood, she and her mother are subjected to intolerable conditions at her owner-father's "slave labor camp also known as plantation." We follow her on her unsuccessful attempt to escape, her loss of her mother, then her capture and enslavement again, this time at her father's New Orleans house. What sets this story apart from others is the introduction of an organization, The American Daughters, a group of women who sabotaged the Confederacy in both subtle and dramatic ways, facilitating the ourcome of the Civil War. ( )