Moonrise over New Jessup

By: Jamila Minnicks

Narrated by: Karen Chilton

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, a thought-provoking and enchanting debut about a Black woman doing whatever it takes to protect all she loves at the beginning of the civil rights movement in Alabama.

It’s 1957, and after leaving the only home she has ever known, Alice Young steps off the bus into the all-Black town of New Jessup, Alabama, where residents have largely rejected integration as the means for Black social advancement. Instead, they seek to maintain, and fortify, the community they cherish on their “side of the woods.” In this place, Alice falls in love with Raymond Campbell, whose clandestine organizing activities challenge New Jessup’s longstanding status quo and could lead to the young couple’s expulsion—or worse—from the home they both hold dear. But as Raymond continues to push alternatives for enhancing New Jessup’s political power, Alice must find a way to balance her undying support for his underground work with her desire to protect New Jessup from the rising pressure of upheaval from inside, and outside, their side of town.

Jamila Minnicks’s debut novel is both a celebration of Black joy and a timely examination of the opposing viewpoints that attended desegregation in America. Fans of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half and Robert Jones, Jr.’s The Prophets will love Moonrise over New Jessup.

"With compelling characters and a heart-pounding plot, Jamila Minnicks pulled me into pages of history I’d never turned before."—Barbara Kingsolver

"An immersive and timely recasting of history by a gloriously talented writer to watch. You will fall in love with New Jessup: the town and the book."—Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, author of The Revisioners

©2023 Jamila Minnicks (P)2023 Algonquin Books

Critic reviews

"My favorite novels light up my brain with things I hadn’t considered before–and this one does exactly that. The deep complexity of the American Civil Rights movement; the various, sometimes opposing approaches of its leaders to desegregation; the gains and inevitable casualties that social progress can claim. With compelling characters and a heart-pounding plot, Jamila Minnicks pulled me into pages of history I’d never turned before."—Barbara Kingsolver

“I was awestruck by its beauty, rapt by its originality, and astounded by its depth. But what astonished me most was learning that this is a debut. The craftwork is extraordinary. Was this book dreamed into existence? Did the Ancestors themselves place this story in the writer’s mind? From page one, I knew this work would transform me. It expanded the way I imagine what is possible in the art form. More than interesting, it is integral. More than important, it is inspiring. Read this book. Cherish it. Protect it. You must. Right out of the gate, Jamila Minnicks’s Moonrise Over New Jessup is a masterpiece.”—Robert Jones, Jr., author of The New York Times bestselling novel The Prophets

"Elegant and nuanced, Moonrise over New Jessup is an incandescent work of art through-and-through, from a powerful new voice."—Jason Mott, author of National Book Award winner Hell of a Book

Wonderful!

What a remarkable and beautiful debut novel. I couldn’t stop listening and can’t wait to read/hear what Jamila Minnicks publishes next. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this gets made into a movie.

Spellbinding

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful story. It was eye opening, offering a different insight into desegregation and life in the late 1950s in Alabama. The narrator is perfect!

Beautiful Language and Imagery

Gripping story. Complex characters. Uplifting. Interesting insight into part of American history. I really enjoyed it.

Fabulous

A gorgeous novel with depth, heart, and fire. And Karen Chilton’s narration was powerful. I never wanted to leave New Jessup.

I will recommend this book to all my friends

What a profoundly educational and moving presentation of a vantage point I had not understood until reading this book! Beautifully written and powerfully narrated, the characters jump off the page. The political concerns, the double binds that arise within a tight community, the role of women at this critical juncture, and the capacity for people to rise and be at their best or worst are masterfully shared.

New Jessup

Beautifully written. Her words were like soft music telling a story with deep meaning. The characters stood out so you could feel them. It flowed like poetry. The narrator was absolutely the best I’ve heard. Fabulous story teller. A great book and great delivery.

Beautifully written

A lovely tale of a Black anti-integration movement in the early Civil Rights era. I don’t know if there was really a place like New Jessup, but this story showed me another angle and helped me understand it.

A Portal to Home

Loved! Filled a place inside my soul
that had been shut away. My people...Home...Harambe

Beautiful!

Although the pain of the Black experience in this country is difficult to learn about and understand in depth, this story is well told, and there is so much joy in it as well. The narrator was perfect and I’ll be looking for more by this author.

A new perspective

Loved everything but the ending. Wish there was a sequel. I want to know more about these characters & how it all worked out for them. Despite that I would recommend the book.