If like me you are a fan of baseball, you’ll want to read Sophia Rose’s review of Home and Away by Rachelle Alers whose historical fiction shares the African American baseball hero, Jackie Robinson through the eyes of a Harper a sports journalist with ties to the league.
by Rochelle Alers
Genres: Historical Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Spanning eighty years, from Nashville in the 1930s and 1940s to present-day Chicago, this sweeping novel draws on the turbulent history of the Negro Baseball Leagues, as the great-granddaughter of a former player sets out to tell her family’s story—and redefine her own.
Harper Fleming is done with being passed over. As a journalist for a Chicago newspaper, she’s been refused a shot at the sportswriter position she longs for. And her on again/off again relationship is going nowhere. Leaving both behind, she heads to Nashville, Tennessee, where she plans to interview her grandfather, Bernard Fleming, for a book about her great-grandfather Kelton Fleming’s time in the Negro Baseball Leagues.
When Bernard admits to experiencing health issues within days of her arrival, Harper assumes the responsibility of caring for her widowed grandfather. However, when she mentions his father playing baseball in the Negro Leagues, Bernard gives her a trove of letters, journals, and clippings encompassing Kelton’s career. But some stories are too personal to print without dishonoring the memory of her great-grandmother. Instead, with Bernard’s approval, Harper begins weaving them into a novel, telling her great-grandfather’s story through the eyes of the fictional Moses Gilliam.
Chapters flow effortlessly as Harper breathes life into each memory. Particularly intense are Kelton’s recollections of the Green Book, an annual guidebook that helped African Americans navigate the segregated South. Negro League teams relied on it as they traveled between games, hurrying out of unwelcoming towns before sundown to avoid the Klan.
As Harper delves into Kelton’s past, a piece of her own resurfaces in the form of Cheney, the childhood friend of her two brothers. And though Harper came to Nashville to honor her great-grandfather’s life, she’s finding inspiration to defy others’ expectations, and take her own in a bold new direction . . .
Sophia Rose’s Review
Take me out to the ballgame – to the past, to the struggles, to the secrets a woman’s great-grandfather shared in his journals and papers about his youth playing in the Negro Baseball League of the 30’s and 40’s. Rochelle Alers has been an author I got cozy with her family-centered romances and last year tried a historical women’s fiction for the first time that reached down into my emotions so I was jazzed to spy this year’s release was centered around baseball my favorite sport.
Home and Away started off on the right foot when I read the author’s introductory letter to readers about how she came to write this story. The nostalgia for the game and the excitement of the African American baseball hero, Jackie Robinson, smashing the racial color barrier were palpable and this energy drove a story that engrossed me thoroughly.
This was a story within a story. Harper is a sports journalist who can’t break into the bigs in Chicago. So, she takes a sabbatical headed to her widowed grandfather’s place in Tennessee with a new plan. She is there to help look after him while she now will take her talent into writing about Kelton, her great-grandfather’s experience playing in the Negro leagues. Her grandfather handed over a treasure trove of papers to fuel her fictional story. Meanwhile, life is looking up when her crush from the past, Cheney, is around and interested in his friends’ sister all grown up now.
The past tale showcased a young black man loaded with talent and what it was like playing in that era: Multiple games a day, avoiding the danger of the KKK, not recognized like the white leagues, and meeting Harper’s great-grandmother. I confess that Kelton’s story hit me deep. I’ve enjoyed hearing stories from our local sports broadcasters about the players of the old Negro leagues, but this felt like the inside scoop and so bittersweet and frustrating that the Green Book (guiding the players safely through the racial South) was so necessary.
Between a romance and new writing opportunity for Harper and Kelton’s fascinating story in the past that came alive as Harper read the papers and wrote her story, I was well-satisfied. Rochelle Alers’ love for the game, careful research, and her own writing style hit this out of the ballpark for me. Whether one enjoys sports stories or not, this historical fiction focuses on the people and historical elements more than the sport so this is for anyone who enjoys historical and women’s fiction brought together.
About Rochelle Alers
Published since 1988, today a full-time writer, has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today's most prolific and popular African-American authors of romance and women's fiction. With more than fifty titles and nearly two million copies of her novels in print, she is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, regularly chosen by Black Expressions Book Club, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. She also wrote as Susan James and Rena McLeary.
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About Sophia Rose
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
