Wade in the Water

A Novel

By: Nyani Nkrumah

Narrated by: Eboni Flowers, Teri Schnaubelt

“An impressive debut. Emotionally honest with lyricism and charm to spare, Nyani Nkrumah’s Wade in the Water depicts in riveting detail a racially charged Mississippi town, the secrets it holds, and the precious heart and soul of a young girl deserving love.”—Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of Our Gen and Tumbling

“Fearless. . . . Vividly bring[s] to life rural 1980s Mississippi.”—People

“A dreamy, brutal, and revelatory reading experience that quickens the pulse and tugs the heart.”—Diane McWhorter, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Carry Me Home

Resonant with the emotional urgency of Alice Walker’s classic Meridian and the poignant charm of Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, a gripping debut novel of female power and vulnerability, race, and class that explores the unlikely friendship between a precocious Black girl and a mysterious white woman in a small Mississippi town in the early 1980s.

Set in 1982, in rural, racially divided Ricksville, Mississippi Wade in the Water tells the story of Ella, a Black, unloved, precocious eleven-year-old, and Ms. St. James, a mysterious white woman from Princeton who appears in Ella’s community to carry out some research. Soon, Ms. St. James befriends Ella, who is willing to risk everything to keep her new friend in a town that does not want her there. The relationship between Ella and Ms. St. James, at times loving and funny and other times tense and cautious, becomes more fraught and complex as Ella unwittingly pushes at Ms. St. James’s carefully constructed boundaries that guard a complicated past, and dangerous secrets that could have devastating consequences.

Told in two voices, Ella’s and Ms. St. James’s, and set around richly developed characters, this riveting, compelling coming of age story will keep listeners entranced until the last shocking revelation.

©2023 Nyaneba Nkrumah (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Great story!

I enjoyed this story, the people, the perspectives, and growth. Several areas of the complexity of Blackness and the African experience were perfectly weaved together. Well done!

True South

Some of this tale was indeed hard to read, due to the cruelty of one man to another man. I still need to give it 5 stars, however, because brutal honesty can't change an honest review.

Well Written

This book was well written and kept me engaged. I believe I went through every emotion. The only thing I didn’t like was the constant use of the “N” word. I understood the time in history and context but hearing it over and over, especially from a white racist character, almost made me return the book.

Beautiful, heart breaking, heart warming too

This was so well written! A deep and beautiful story, even though there are several heart breaking parts. The main character is someone I want to know - I am sure I will ponder this story long after. The narrators are excellent as well.

Everything was informative and enjoyable z

I like the people who gave such an incredible storyline was great and worthy. Thank you.

2 characters

I really enjoy this book. It was thought provoking.
Loved how it was told from two different people

Really good read for the topic of racism in the south in modern times

I enjoyed this novel. It’s a good story that reminds us to never forget the horrors of slavery and racism in the South. Even though stories set in Mississippi and Alabama are hard read at times, this story was well written and well performed and quite thought provoking. It examines race relations in 1980s Mississippi (which not surprisingly wasn’t very progressive from Reconstruction and Jim Crow days) between a young g black girl and a grown white woman. Being told from the POV of a child helps the story maintain the innocence that is often lost in adults due to life’s hardships and tough lessons. I would definitely read other works by this author and would recommend to anyone interested in studying racism and race relations in society and literature.

Just Wonderful!

This has been one of the best books I have enjoyed in a very long time!

well done!

Touching story, well performed, with a powerful and extremely important message. Understanding different cultures, the mindsets that mold those cultures helps to heal trauma in this world.

excellent listen

Wonderfully well written, the story takes you to some unexpected places. All will be revealed in time but it won’t be what you think.