Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler

Seventeen year old Isabelle falls in love with Robert but there's an issue. He is black and she white and, as this is 1930s Kentucky, interracial relationships are completely unacceptable. Their story is heartbreaking, the path of true love certainly doesn't run smooth.

 

In the present day Isabelle is being driven to a funeral from her home in Texas to Cincinnati by her hairdresser and friend Dorrie. Dorrie is a black single Mum and has problems of her own. The story is told from both women's point of view, Dorrie tells us about their journey and Isabelle about her life in the past and at the end of the book we discover the identity of the person whose funeral they are attending.

 

This is well written but at first I was disappointed, I'd heard good things and the story just wasn't grabbing me. Once Robert and Isabelle got together though it became much more interesting and I raced through, desperate to find out what would happen to them. It doesn't matter how many times I read about these times and how people were treated it never fails to shock or upset me. Will definitely appeal to readers who enjoy Southern fiction and good storytelling.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5