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

Critic reviews

When Stars Rain Down is a book with religious themes, but if that's not your preference, don't let that stop you. The writing is beautiful, the story compelling, the characters vividly drawn, and religion is a backdrop, not the main story. Opal's voice is pitch-perfect, and the plot has enough surprises to keep you turning pages late into the night. I give this book a whole-hearted thumbs up.

When Stars Rain Down is so powerful, timely, and compelling that sometimes I found myself holding my breath while reading it. Rarely have I been so attached to characters and felt so transported to a time and place. This is an important and beautifully written must-read of a novel. Opal is a character I will never forget.

All in all, When Stars Rain Down is worthy of any reader's attention--especially fans of Southern literature. The writing is eloquent, the story is filled with conflict and tension balanced by warmth and charity, the characters are vivid and well-developed, and the impact is profound. This is the kind of book that will resonate long after the last pages are read.

Angela Jackson-Brown interrogates race, love, and family with empathy and style, making her an author you will want to read again and again. This tale of America's tragic past is both compelling and cinematic as the Pruitt and Ketchum families struggle in the mire of racism in the 1930s. It's a moving novel that boldly illuminates the past but also speaks directly to today's politics and the power of faith. You will fall in love with the book's resilient protagonist, Opal. I certainly did.

In this world there are writers and there are artists. Angela Jackson-Brown is both.

Jackson-Brown (House Repairs) paints a vivid picture of family and community persevering in the pressure cooker of the Deep South. Readers will be drawn to Opal's intelligent and authentic voice, as the book confronts issues of racism, injustice, and white privilege head-on. This is a powerful Own Voices contribution to the historical fiction genre, joining titles such as Alka Joshi's The Henna Artist and Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek in their unflinching look at the past.

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.

the title captured my attention!

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

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.