This book has been equated with [b:The Help|4667024|The Help|Kathryn Stockett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572940430l/4667024._SY75_.jpg|4717423] and, initially, that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up because The Help is often viewed as a white savior book.

But I certainly see the similarities. There is a story of a Black teenage girl who ends up getting published. She was on the same bus as Rosa Parks when Ms. Parks refused her seat to a white man. Civil Rights is a theme in both books but that's where I feel the similarities end. And this book is far far better and more fair.

There are two story lines in this book and it is rare that I equally love both stories but, with this book, I certainly did. There was the story of Mattie Banks who was on the bus with Ms. Parks in the 50s and there was the story of Ashlee Turner, in the present day, who is still dealing with racial injustices both personally and nationally. The reader can also see how the issues Mattie faced and how they are still faced by Ashlee. There are things that are better and things that certainly need more work, both as a Black person and as a Black woman.

This was a very good book and I find myself still thinking about the characters. But don't be fooled. There are similarities with [b:The Help|4667024|The Help|Kathryn Stockett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572940430l/4667024._SY75_.jpg|4717423] but [b:The Girl at the Back of the Bus: An absolutely heart-wrenching historical novel|55938203|The Girl at the Back of the Bus An absolutely heart-wrenching historical novel|Suzette D. Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605755742l/55938203._SY75_.jpg|87150377] is significantly better. ( )

Mattie Banks story starts in Montgomery Alabama in 1955 when she is 16 and ends in Georgia where she is dying It is told as a dual time line story from the perspective of Mattie in the early part and her granddaughter Ashlee in the present day. The story lines are meshed together perfectly and we not only get to know Mattie as a young girl but through her granddaughter, we learn the effect that her life had on the following generations of her family.

1955 - Montgomery Alabama. Sixteen year old Mattie is on a bus She's pregnant and scared and heading to see a woman who can end her pregnancy. While on the bus she sees a woman named Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat and this act of bravery makes Mattie re-think her life and problems. She decides that she, too, can be brave and deal with the issues in her life no matter how difficult they are.

Present day - Atlanta Georgia. Ashlee is a lawyer in a top firm. Her goal has always been to be one of the partners in the firm and she has basically given up her life and family to work hard enough to make it happen. When she is informed that the person she was mentoring - a rich, white, male - got the promotion that she was working for, she knows that she has to find her passion in life again and requests a two week leave of absence. When she finds that her beloved Nana is dying, she immediately goes to her family in Valdosta. She finds a book that her grandmother had written years earlier. At first Ashlee thinks it is fiction until she realizes that it's her family story. Some of the truths are difficult to read and she has to decide if she'll share them with her parents or if it will be too hurtful for them. The more she reads about Mattie's life, the more she realizes the battles she fought throughout her life to bring her to the place she is now and how what happened in her life has affected Ashlee's quest to find out what will make her happy in her life.

The characters in this novel are so well written that it's easy to feel their pain and joy. What is so sad is that viewing the world in 1955 and present day, even though there has been a lot of progress, racism and sexism still exist and still negatively affect many lives. This is a powerful emotional book with characters that you won't soon forget.

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