An interesting story. Overall, I enjoyed it. The characters were interesting and felt real. They all had flaws that made them more human and all of them were interesting to get to know better through their unique POV's.
But I had a significant issue with how the characters were written and the overall 'tone' of the book. Exactly what age demographic is this for? The story itself seems more adult but the book was definitly not written for an adult audience. While the main characters were flawed, human and interesting, they were also written as very naive and child-like. This was especially true for the side characters.
It felt stuck between the worlds of adult fiction and young adult (maybe even children's) fiction. And this negatively impacted my reading experience.
I wish the editor had pushed for a change in the language so that the story could have been told in a more adult way and the characters would have come across less naive. Especially the younger member of the family, who is in her early 20s, read to me more like a 12-year old than a young woman.

“Troubled Waters" is a powerful narrative that intertwines the lives of a granddaughter and grandmother, exploring their struggles with racial and environmental justice across generations.

Heglar’s meticulous background research (and thoughtfully added personal experiences) made this book fit a branch of historical fiction I love. As a climate scientist, I often find themes of climate change and climate justice hard to successfully portray in a story without it feeling like a topic thrown in sans purpose to the overall narrative. That is not the case here; the clear but often overlooked connections between climate and society provided profound depth to Corrine’s story. I appreciated how "Troubled Waters" linked topics of generational trauma, grief, activism, family, and healing, showcasing the enduring strength and resilience of Black women against a backdrop of societal and environmental turmoil.

Joniece Abbott-Pratt’s narration brings the characters to life with incredible personality and vibrancy, I loved her storytelling. Highly recommend.

Such an intense read, the topics of grief, loss, generational trauma, love and family. You can really feel the power behind the authors words. Amazing work

Bravo! I absolutely loved everything about this book especially the themes of grief, maternal relationships, and of course climate change.

"Troubled Waters" by Mary Annäise Heglar is a
thought-provoking book. It is literary fiction and partially historical fiction. It is partially set in 2013/2014 and partially set at the time of the civil rights movement in the 50s.

Corrine is a young woman going to college and grieving the loss of her brother, Cameron, who died a year earlier in an accident on an oil rig in the Mississippi River. Cora is Corrine's grandmother, who is grieving her grandson. Harold is Corrine's uncle and Cora's son. He tries to help his mom and niece communicate better and he is there at the most important times.

Grandma Cora was one of the first and youngest black children to be integrated into a white school in Nashville, Tennessee. It wasn't easy for her at all. Corrine is very worried about global warming and saving the planet, and she is very upset with the oil companies. She blames them for her brother's death.

There are some great cooking scenes with Grandma making biscuits, fried fish, and gumbo.

This book is ultimately heart-warming and a very good read!

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 5/5
Plot - 3/5
Pacing - 4/5
Unputdownability - 3/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
Narration - 5/5 by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Cover - 5/5
Overall - 4.25 rounded to 4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Focus/Muse, and Mary Annäise Heglar for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Definitely loved every minute of this story.

The narrator's voice was so beautiful
The fact that the author incorporated her family into the story was top tier. This alone added so much depth to the story

A beautifully heartbreaking but inspiring story. I will be adding this to my trophy shelf!

I found this to be an interesting story of two women’s lives. Alternating voices of the granddaughter Corrine and her grandmother Cora, both had engaging stories. Corrine was heavily involved with bringing light to her brother’s death, presumably due to climate change. I really liked her involvement in this movement, and thought the reaction of those around her to the crisis was very telling (and pertinent today). Cora’s story of being a black child during the beginning of school integration was powerful and sad. I thought the characters were well drawn, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end describing how much of the story was based on her own family.

I listened to the audio of this book. The narrator was very good! Nice pace, voice inflection, and cadence kept me engaged. I would happily listen to her narration in the future.

I really enjoyed this book and the awareness that it offers when it comes to climate change, family, and trauma. In this book there two main characters/POV's. First we have Corinne who is attending college at Oberlin University in Ohio and she is majoring in Environmentalism. She is truly passionate when it comes to climate change and many corporations have no idea or awareness of what they are causing. As we get to know more about Corinne we learn more and more about her past and the relationship she has with her grandmother.

The next main POV is Cora who is Corinnes grandmother. Her is very protective over Corinne when it comes to her well being, but at times it can be too over protective at times. She was completely against Corinne attending a predominantly white college and she felt it would not be safe her. Though we soon find out that she is basing that off from her own experiences that had happened in the past. Cora had a rough childhood. She dealt with racism and so much more where it caused trauma and not willing to change her mindset on things.

As we get to know both of these characters they eventually realizing that they are misunderstanding one another. They both have two different protectives and not really getting to know each other and where they are coming from. As time goes on in the book the strain on their relationship. lessens because they truly love each other. I don't want to give too much away, but this book was a page turner and I highly recommend everyone to read this book. I loved the POV's and the granddaughter and grandmother relationship that it portrayed. I honestly cannot wait to read more book by this author.

REVIEW

Thank you #partner @harpermusebooks for my #gifted copy. 💕

Troubled Waters
Mary Annaïse Heglar

📌 Inspired by the author's own family history.

💭Troubled Waters explores the intersection of racial justice and environmental justice in this powerful, moving novel of courage and sacrifice. Through past-present timelines, Heglar explores themes of family, grief, healing, activism, risk, and the ways different generations impact change.

🎧 I read this one with my ears, and really loved this format. Narrator Joeince Abbot-Pratt is one of my favorites (she narrated two of my top audiobooks of 2023). So when I saw her name attached to this audiobook, I immediately downloaded it. Abbott-Pratt beautifully portrays this multigenerational cast of characters.

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This book wasn’t for me. I couldn’t connect with the story and I didn’t like the narrator. It all felt a bit flat and the characters were, unfortunately, quite uninteresting. I have no doubt that a different audience would enjoy this far more than I did, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

A powerful novel about family, grief and strength of multiple generations of a black family in the United States. This novel broke my heart for Corrine and Cora. The audiobook narrator did a really good job and I enjoyed listening to this novel.

Oh my this book had me emotional for so many reasons 😭! This was really good book . Just to know that some of family members had to endure some of the most terrible things known to mankind . It just breaks my heart. I feel like book highlights the difference in generations of blk people and how things may seem like they are better but also still the same just different situations. Prepare yourself to feel every emotion while reading this book ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️