On the Rooftop

By: Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Narrated by: Megan Gage

At home, they are just sisters, but on stage, they are The Salvations. Ruth, Esther and Chloe have been singing and dancing in harmony since they could speak. Thanks to the rigorous direction of their mother, Vivian, they've become a bona fide girl group whose shows are the talk of the Jazz-era Fillmore.

Now, Vivian has scored a once-in-a-lifetime offer from a talent manager, who promises to catapult The Salvations into the national spotlight. Vivian knows this is the big break she's been praying for. But sometime between the hours of rehearsal on their rooftop and the weekly gigs at the Champagne Supper Club, the girls have become women, women with dreams that their mother cannot imagine.

The neighbourhood is changing, too – all around the Fillmore, white men in suits are approaching Black property owners with offers. One sister finds herself called to fight back, one falls into the comfort of an old relationship, another yearns to make her own voice heard. And Vivian, who has always maintained control, will have to confront the parts of her life that threaten to splinter.

©2022 Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (P)2023 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"What happens when a mother’s well-intentioned aspirations for her offspring conflict with her daughter’s ever-changing vision of herself? In Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s showstopper of a third novel, On the Rooftop, this theme is explored with compassion, clear-eyed perception and been-around-the-block delivery. And when placed within the context of racial segregation and prejudice in mid-century America, the results are soul-shaking... A powerhouse novel." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"An expansive, big-hearted work of historical fiction about family, love and what happens when children grow up to chase dreams their parents never imagined for them." (Good Housekeeping)

"A masterful examination of family and community that celebrates the legacy of Black dreams and determination... Sexton’s work entertains and inspires at the same time, and with On the Rooftop, she urges us to find comfort in the triumphs of our past." (Bookpage)