HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

When the Reckoning Comes

by LaTanya McQueen

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2546105,633 (3.72)2
A haunting novel about a black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind. More than a decade ago, Mira fled her small, segregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveled, she distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celine, mocked by their town as the only white girl with black friends; from her old neighborhood; from the eerie Woodsman plantation rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves; from the terrifying memory of a ghost she saw that terrible day when a dare-gone-wrong almost got Jesse--the boy she secretly loved--arrested for murder. But now Mira is back in Kipsen to attend Celine's wedding at the plantation, which has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, and especially, Jesse, to finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day. But for all its fancy renovations, the Woodsman remains a monument to its oppressive racist history. The bar serves antebellum drinks, entertainments include horrifying reenactments, and the service staff is nearly all black. Yet the darkest elements of the plantation's past have been carefully erased--rumors that slaves were tortured mercilessly and that ghosts roam the lands, seeking vengeance on the descendants of those who tormented them, which includes most of the wedding guests.  As the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse, and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together, and to save themselves from what is to come.… (more)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 2 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
I’m angry. Furious. This had mountainous triggers and I felt each of them.
Kids brought up in a broken world, who experienced trauma and unwarranted hate. Life goes on and they get older. One tries to forget about an experience while the other makes it their sole focus. Nothing has changed in this place, and maybe elsewhere is just as pathetic. The audacity of some of the guests, and how they assume. Is it their f*cked up lineage?! Is it their perceived right?!
I WANTED TEETH! I wanted a raw guttural revenge with these pathetic self centered ancestors.
Did YOU know about those special shoes?! Well, you can’t I know that shit.
I’m giving it 3/5 because I did feel the exposed nerve endings and I wanted revenge. They got off too easily for way too long. Maybe that makes me just as bad? How can you call yourself a human after doing those things to another, and support others to do such also?! I need a cool down….. ( )
  cmpeters | Feb 2, 2024 |
I really loved this book!

It was spooky and atmospheric and gut wrenching and eye opening all at the same time. The relationships between Mira and Celine and Jesse and how they changed and stayed the same were so realistic.

I don’t think this book would have made it onto my radar we’re it not to have been nominated for the Goodreads Choice, but I definitely see why it was! ( )
  Danielle.Desrochers | Oct 10, 2023 |
Mira grew up in a small town where small minds allowed racism to flourish. She hasn't been back in years, and who could blame her. But she still thinks of Jesse, her school girl crush, and what might have been had things turned out differently. Out of the blue she gets a phone call from her childhood friend Celine, practically begging her to attend her wedding. When they were children, Celine often said they could be sisters, it didn't seem to matter to her that she was white and Mira was not, or maybe it was that the white kids didn't really accept her because she was poor. Maybe she was just using Mira all along. When Mira learns that Jesse will be attending the wedding, she reluctantly agrees to make the drive, even though Celine is getting married on the old plantation where countless slaves were tortured and killed. When they were kids they heard the rumors and ghost stories about the plantation, and may have even witnessed something otherworldly themselves. Now it's all been renovated and turned into a vacation resort where the wealthy and privileged can watch slave reenactments while they pretend there was nothing wrong with owning people. But fresh paint and new construction can't hide what lurks beneath.

This was a more subtle kind of horror, very atmospheric and dark. The pace was a little slow although there is a pervasive sense of "wrongness" before Mira even reaches her destination. More than just a ghost story it shines a light on the stark contrast in the way the haves and have nots perceive the world.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review. ( )
  IreneCole | Jul 27, 2022 |
Two stars for the beautiful cover, and how much it fit the theme, and the title put it all together so neatly. I admire that a lot. Well done, author. I don't consider this a horror novel. It had the tropes of one, sure: ghosts from another time reveal themselves to modern time and show something that happened, then there's an action scene of some kind. Three of my favorite haunted house books have those tropes, so I'm positive towards them. This book was mostly sad and uncomfortable. Some of the history, I knew. Some of it was a much-needed history lesson. Everything was horrifying, don't get me wrong. It was awful. It needs to be in every history book. But this book was not scary in the least. It's a character study with weak attempts at action scenes and slow dread that just do not work. What passes for plot are events that come out of nowhere and are barely discussed after. I felt like I was missing something when the book ended. I want to read other stuff by this author; I have a feeling this book was just kind of a dud for me and other works of hers could be great. ( )
  iszevthere | Jul 13, 2022 |
The structure of the early part of this book made it a slow ride in terms of my becoming engaged with the characters and story, but as I kept going on got past the first third or so of the book, it became harder and harder to put the book down. McQueen's writing is sometimes a bit heavy-handed in terms of storytelling, and I'd love for more time to have gone into character development vs. theme development (where theme was already clear), but on the whole, I enjoyed this book. In its themes and blend of past with present, it was somewhat reminiscent of some of my favorite Morrison works, and I'm certain I'll pick up the next book McQueen writes. That said, I do think this might have been a better work if some real cuts had been made to the beginning chapters and to the more heavy-handed writing moments, as the book was at its best when engaged in description/atmosphere and present scenes/moments. I'll be curious to see what her next book is like. ( )
1 vote whitewavedarling | Feb 10, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes?
To whom will you run for help? Where
will you leave your riches?

--ISAIAH 10:3
Dedication
For those who have yet to see.
First words
They are coming.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

A haunting novel about a black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind. More than a decade ago, Mira fled her small, segregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveled, she distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celine, mocked by their town as the only white girl with black friends; from her old neighborhood; from the eerie Woodsman plantation rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves; from the terrifying memory of a ghost she saw that terrible day when a dare-gone-wrong almost got Jesse--the boy she secretly loved--arrested for murder. But now Mira is back in Kipsen to attend Celine's wedding at the plantation, which has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, and especially, Jesse, to finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day. But for all its fancy renovations, the Woodsman remains a monument to its oppressive racist history. The bar serves antebellum drinks, entertainments include horrifying reenactments, and the service staff is nearly all black. Yet the darkest elements of the plantation's past have been carefully erased--rumors that slaves were tortured mercilessly and that ghosts roam the lands, seeking vengeance on the descendants of those who tormented them, which includes most of the wedding guests.  As the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse, and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together, and to save themselves from what is to come.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.72)
0.5
1
1.5
2 2
2.5
3 11
3.5 2
4 15
4.5
5 6

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 205,716,121 books! | Top bar: Always visible