2.5 rounded up to 3 because of the unique perspective on slavery during the American Civil War
Teenaged Ady and her mother Sanite are enslaved to a businessman in the French Quarter of New Orleans. When the pair tries to escape and are recaptured, they face a unique challenge. Ady's life is further disrupted when she loses her mom. But she soon discovers the Mockingbird Inn where she meets Lenore, a free Black woman, and is invited to join a clandestine society of spies called the Daughters. Can Ady persevere and find her freedom and true love too?
I like Ady's characters. She's witty, smart and resourceful.
The literary strategy of inserting the modern-day storyline at various intervals disrputed the book's flow and didn't enhance the book.
I did not like the ending. But it did make me rethink the entire novel.
The author repeats "slave labor camp also called a plantation" throughout the novel, and that becomes repetitive.

In this fascinating historical fiction novel, Ruffin brings readers to antebellum New Orleans where a group of Black women run a secret resistance movement called the Daughters that seeks to fight for local and individual freedom. Readers follow Ady and her mother Sanite, both of whom are enslaved by a businessman in New Orleans’ French Quarter and dream of taking part in their family’s history of rebellion. After their forced separation, Ady joins the Daughters with the hope of freeing and reuniting with her mother, and doing so will require all the hope and courage that Sanite has taught her. The characters are, of course, the star of this novel, and readers will be on the edge of their seats following Ady’s life and adventures in antebellum New Orleans. This unique historical fiction novel spotlights a forgotten part of Black and women’s history in the pre-Civil War era of New Orleans history, and it does an incredible job creating this moment for readers who may not be familiar with it. By using historical fiction to bring these forgotten women and the Daughters organization to life, Ruffin makes this topic and these women incredibly accessible and approachable, bringing their story to a new audience.

This Civil War-era novel about an underground network of Black women spies called The Daughters drew me in immediately and didn't let go! A compelling blend of cinematic historical fiction, love story, and spy intrigue based on little-known but very real history.

The Underground Railroad will be in the back your mind when you are reading story. Similar to story of people who were running the railroads to get people from south to north, this was the story of women who were fighting the Confederates. It mainly revolved around a young girl named Ady.

Ady did not understand the brutality of the slavery when she was with her mom. She thought people were cruel, but it was who they were. Her mother was there to protect her. Until Ady and her mom were separated... Once she was on her own and grew up enough to understand how she was treated differently, she was shattered. That was when The American Daughters found her. Ady became part of the people who thought they could solve the problem once and for all

I liked the bits and pieces from dairies and transcripts sprinkled into the story. Especially the last chapter included another layer of narration for a second made we question whether it was acknowledgements or another chapter. If you are interested in strong women who were ready to change the world, you'll like this one

Everyone should read this book. Maurice bridges a story about the dynamics of a mother and daughter relationship through a story that will stick with us for years to come.

So let me preface this review by saying, Historical Fiction is very far from my normal genre of choice. However, I cannot say enough good things about The American Daughters. This story was raw, emotional, upsetting because of it highlighting one of the darkest moments of our Country’s history, but also inspiring!

The writing was so fluid and captivating. The characters were diverse, endearing, and easy to get attached to. I found myself watching the story unfold like a play or tv show. Highly recommend to lovers of the genre, time period, or anyone looking to widen their reading preferences.

Coming of age stories don't typically move this slow... I was expecting to see the *American Daughters* before 2/3 of the way in.

Evocative historical novel of a black woman whose courage and perseverance remains with us long after one finishes reading. A woman for all seasons. A definite recommend

"The American Daughters" by Maurice Carlos Ruffin was an interesting, captivating story of a girl, trying to escape, and then become part of the fight against slavery. A powerful historical fiction, depicting a strong young woman, making the best of her horrific circumstances, her heartbreaks, evil surroundings, finding Allys and triumphs. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy, all opinions are my own.

A really interesting, somewhat fantastical, historical read.

I thought there would be more involved with the Daughters, but Ady's story is certainly interesting. There is a lot to take in, in this story - some of it was unbelieveable but the story was fast moving and kept me reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. We meet Ady as an enslaved girl who is close to her mother, Sanite. Things go awry for the pair, and Ady finds herself with her enslaver in New Orleans. Given an unusual amount of free time there, she befriends a wealthy free Creole woman and joins a group of women who are covertly undermining the Confederacy. Contrary to the title of the book, this is more a coming-of-age story for Ady and not so much suspense and intrigue of the American Daughters. Maybe I'm thick, but I was thrown off by the Epilogue, having ignored the bits of foreshadowing that periodically appeared between chapters. To me, this aspect of the book was unnecessary. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I reluctantly started this novel this morning and even more reluctantly finished it this afternoon. The story line takes place in New Orleans in the period just preceding the Civil War. It is the story of a young slave who is brought there with her mother to be sold. Both were purchased by the same man who kept his wife and family at their plantation and the two slaves at his home in New Orleans. But basically it is the story of the young girl and her contribution to history. There are also chapters that discuss the rest of the book in retrospect. It is remarkable. Thanks to Net Galley and Random House for an ARC for an honest review.

The American Daughters centers around Ady, while a memorable main character, an enslaved girl who joins a secret group of spies called the Daughters. Along with Lenore and a group of strong women, they seek for freedom in the deep slave south.

The book moved slowly, and while there were bits of humor and a little bit of coming of age, however the introduction to the Daughters doesn't come until the middle of the book. Wish there was more of this in the beginning, as it made it hard to read and fully understand where the book was going.

As a historical novel, the character voice was too modern to really be historical. I can't appreciate a historical fiction that doesn't respect the background its meant to emulate.

I really enjoyed this book. I am typically not a huge fan of historical fiction but got into this one. Ady’s story really was amazing. I wish there was more back story of her mom, maybe a prequel?

In that way that the books we're reading can sometimes have remarkable similarities, I chanced to be reading The American Daughters just as I was listening to Jesmyn Ward's Let Us Descend. Two books about young women enslaved in the antebellum South but the similarities didn't end there. Both young women were raised by strong women who gave them hope where there seemed no possibility of it. Two young women who find themselves in New Orleans.

Here there is no supernatural element to allow Ady to escape, only her own strength and a secret society of free and enslaved black women who use their positions, wits, and courage to undermine those who enslave and keep them down. In The American Daughters we see all of the brutality and horror we expect to see in a novel about enslaved people. We see the complicated relationships between slaves, the communities they formed, the ways they found to survive. In Ady, we also see how some enslaved persons had the ability, limited as it was, to move about in cities and how free blacks allowed to flourish while also being kept down at the same time.

A person can read this book simply for the surface story it tells and enjoy reading about these strong women and the ways they fought back and survived the psychological and physical torture that was their daily life. It would be a good book on that count alone (although the reader might notice some jarring places in the narrative).

It is always amazing to me the way that authors can find new and original ways to tell stories we thought we already knew. Here Ruffin tells us, early on, that this is the work of a number of people, that it has been added to over time. We are looking at this story from the outside, as people in the future examine the text, trying to determine what is original and true, what has been added, who has the authority to make alterations and additions. It's a work of fiction that makes us question what is true in the nonfiction we read. This book makes me wonder how much of the South's failure might have been because their efforts were being undermined by the very people they were fighting to keep down. Of course, it also makes me question whether or not those other works are accurate, either, relying as they will have done, on the works that survived that time.

I found the coming-of-age narrative featuring Ady and the Daughters quite engaging. Particularly captivating were the segments spotlighting Ady's bond with Sanite, exploring the intricate dynamics of their mother-daughter relationship. However, my primary qualm with the book lies in its pacing; I yearned for deeper immersion into the lives of the Daughters. Their introduction felt somewhat abrupt, leading to a sense of haste in tying up loose ends towards the conclusion. Despite this, I commend Ruffin's meticulous research, seamlessly interweaving historical documents into the narrative tapestry. I look forward to reading more from Ruffin.

Ady and Sanite, her mother, were sold to John du Marche, a New Orleans businessman, to work in his city townhouse when Ady was seven. Her mother raised her with stories of the family’s origins and they were inseparable. An escape and their re-capture brought them to du Marche’s plantation, where Sanite died of a fever when it swept through the property. Taken back to New Orleans, Ady was lost without Sanite. After her return to the city, however, her life changed. The education of slaves was outlawed, but du Marche provided an instructor to educate her. She first sees Lenore, a free Black woman, when she assists du Marche on one of his trips in the city. Lenore is the owner of the Mockingbird Inn. She takes Ady under her wing and offers her part time work. Without du Marche’s permission she accepts, hoping to someday save enough money to purchase her freedom. Lenore also introduces her to The Daughters, a society of spies whose aim is to undermine the Confederacy and its’ institution of slavery. This is a sisterhood that offers a hope for the futur.e.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s Ady is intelligent and brave, as she often speaks her mind and stands by her mother. The cruelty of the slave hunters and owners and the conditions at the plantation are heartbreaking. Ruffin’s story is well written and highly recommended for fans of American historical fiction. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - One World for providing this book for my review.

3.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House One World for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This story starts in New Orleans centered around Ady, an enslaved girl, who is curious and bright and is with her mother, Sanite. They are inseparable and Ady's world is her mother., filled with the wonders of the world and stories of family even though they deal with the horrors of slavery, physical and emotional But, tragedy happens and they are separated. Ady is lost without her mother but she finds the Mockingbird Inn and meets Lenore who introduces her to the The Daughters and helps her to find her way and bring hope back into her life. This group of Black women are spies fighting to end slavery.

Recently, I've read several historical novels about different facets of slavery around the same time period. Unfortunately, this one was the least compelling and I didn't connect with any of the characters. Yet, there were elements I did enjoy. The story was well written and I gave it four stars instead of three due to the epilogue which made me question and rethink the story, and come back to the idea when thinking about what I read anywhere.. I was also curious if the The Daughters were a real organization that we never learned about in history class.

This book has so many avenues for discussion and deeper pondering. At it’s most basic it is a historical fiction/ coming of age story. Set in antebellum times 12-year old Ady and her mother Sanite are together as slaves to a „master“ with a townhouse in New Orleans and a „slave labor camp called a plantation“. Sanite teaches Ady to stay her own person at the core and to be resilient. Life is hard and when events make it even more unbearable they try to escape and Ady finally learns her family‘s story. They are recaptured and through subsequent events Ady ends up alone as a house slave in New Orleans, she is educated and has some agency in how she spends her time especially when the „master“ is not in town. As readers we get to discover many layers of life in New Orleans at the time and the author’s love for his diverse city shines through. Ady hooks up with The American Daughters who try to sabotage slave owners and the confederate army by a tactic of needle pricks. This offers another big theme in this book the strong women Ady is surrounded by all her life at different intersections. Language and the use of language is another big theme, from Ady (Adebimpe), called Antoinette and Hummingbird by different people for different reasons, to the „master“ who is not called „master“ unless a point is made but wants to be called „father“.
History and how it is told and passed through generations is another big through line - with research analysis of Ady‘s diary popping up in different parts of the story trying to parse out which parts are original and which parts were added later.
I feel this review is quite incomplete as this is a book I will keep thinking about !