If you want to see racism from the eyes of a 12-year-old, if you are interested in the complexities of racial divide and healing, and you want to read a compelling novel, Nyani Nkrumah has written a book for you. Wade in the Water shows how one little girl, Ella, is affected by the racism she experiences in the white and black communities. Her friendship with an older white woman, who is trying to make her own race reckoning, brings some surprises that you may or may not see coming. Nkruman shows the raw, emotional sides of her characters in a truly gifted way.
Wade in the Water by Nyani Nkrumah, (List Price: $27.99, Amistad, 9780063226616, January 2023)
Reviewed by Linda Hodges, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina