When Stars Rain Down

By: Angela Jackson-Brown

Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt

Opal is an eighteen-year-old Black woman working as a housekeeper in a small Southern town in the 1930s—and then the Klan descends. A moving story that confronts America’s tragic past, When Stars Rain Down is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching.

The summer of 1936 in Parsons, Georgia, is unseasonably hot, and Opal Pruitt senses a nameless storm brewing. She hopes this foreboding feeling won’t overshadow her upcoming 18th birthday or the annual Founder’s Day celebration in just a few weeks. She and her Grandma Birdie work as housekeepers for the white widow Miss Peggy, and Opal desperately wants some time to be young and carefree with her cousins and friends.

But when the Ku Klux Klan descends on Opal’s neighborhood, the tight-knit community is shaken in every way possible. Parsons’s residents—both Black and white—are forced to acknowledge the unspoken codes of conduct in their post-Reconstruction era town. To complicate matters, Opal finds herself torn between two unexpected romantic interests—the son of her pastor, Cedric Perkins, and the white grandson of the woman she works for, Jimmy Earl Ketchums.

Faced with love, loss, and a harsh awakening to an ugly world, Opal holds tight to her family and faith—and the hope for change.

“When Stars Rain Down is so powerful, timely, and compelling . . . an important and beautifully written must-read of a novel.”—Silas House, author of Southernmost

• 2021 Langum Prize in American Historical Fiction–Finalist
• Stand-alone novel

©2021 Angela Jackson-Brown (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

the title captured my attention!

i hope a second book is planned. it was a great read! However, I wanted to get closure.

Better than I could imagine!

At first I wasn’t sure about this book. It was in my library for a long time.
I finally listened to it this week.
It is a story of the growing up of a young black girl in the segregated south, but it is really a story of love and belief. I thought I might be too old for this story but I was wrong.
As a senior aged white woman I learned a lot about the thoughts black people about white words and behavior. I wish white and black could be more honest and open about their feelings but it is clearly hard.
I cried in the closing chapters of the book. It is beautiful.

Wonderful story

Touching story and well performed. The characters felt real to me. I loved it and didn’t want it to end.

Well done

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the performance. Although parts were tough to envision the author did a great job of being honest yet compassionate with her delivery. As a black woman raised in the south this story was not new to me. It was told very authentically which made it resonate deeply.

Beautiful and moving

Such a beautiful and well written story, the narrator did a great job depicting all the characters.

This book was take you on a emotional journey

This book took me on an emotional roller coaster, the beauty of newly found love, the piercing truth of racism, the love and bond of family, the heartbreak and pain of losing those you love but yet the beauty of faith. A very well written book!!

Authentic Voice of a teen in a period piece

Love the lush narrative descriptions of Southern Georgia and of a family with roots and strength

Awesome

That was a good book. I really enjoyed it. some more books by him. Great writer.

Pleasant Surprise!

This is my first book by Ms. Jackson-Brown. Loved her writing and how she drew me into each character and their story. Even though the ugliest of the KKK and racism existed, the faith, love and strength of Ms. Birdee’s family prevailed. Love, love Opal and Cedric’s fresh love!

Wonderful

This book was so well written and held my attention through its entirety. It has been a long time since I read a book I could not set down until it was finished. Overall, and amazing read.