May 2

May 2 Black Cake - Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake is a book about the lengths one woman takes to escape the life that was almost forced on her so she could live her way.

Eleanor Bennett has just passed away, leaving her son Byron and daughter Benny reeling. They meet with her estate lawyer, who has two things for them: a black cake and a voice recording that reveals secrets that have the siblings wondering if they ever knew their mother at all. Eleanor’s life is not what they thought it was, and I can tell you that I was riveted to the parts of the book that tell her story.

Eleanor is such an interesting character and if the book had been only about her and not her children, I would have been fine with that. I found Byron and Benny annoying and almost bratty. Eleanor’s story is much more appealing to me and engaging. I wanted to scrub them completely from the story and just it just be about their mother. However, I think it’s so important that the author included Byron’s line of work in the ocean sciences. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book by a Black author that had a character in that field of work. Doctors, lawyers, yes. But a doctorate in ocean sciences? Not at all, and I love it. I wish more Black authors would write their characters in fields like that, especially in young adult books. You never know whose life may be changed because of it.

I’m not sure why but I found myself getting extremely emotional when Eleanor’s father married her off to the local gangster because of his gambling debts. It made me cry so much because I thought of all the young girls whose lives that were filled with such promise were turned to ash because of a parent’s wrong choices. I wanted her to run away or find some other way to defy her father. But like most children, she had faith that her father would change his mind at the last minute, only to be heartbroken. I was so ANGRY with her father. He could have just run with his daughter and started over someplace else. But like he admitted later, he was a coward.

I think the character I related to the least was Benny. She, in my opinion, was a brat. I get it, she felt like no one understood what she was going through. And I know what that feels like, trust me. But there is no way in Hell that I’m not reaching out to my parents, especially my mother who has been calling me to make amends. Now, I understand I’m saying this from a very biased point of view. I adore my mother and we have a great relationship. So not speaking to her for a long period of time is unfathomable to me. But, I understand that not everyone has a great relationship with their parents so I get why Benny did not get in touch with her mother.

All in all, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to my readers.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Where to buy: The Lit. Bar Loyalty Bookstores Amazon