Rated 4.5 Stars

Rochelle Alers has done it again, sucked me into a story from the first line. Home and Away was amazing. It's told in dual timelines featuring Harper and her great grandfather's stories. There are two love stories unfolding concurrently packed with secrets and some twists thrown in. This book was an absolute joy to read. It was both interesting and informative without the info dumping. I loved the way the author weaved both tales seamlessly, to me it was so very well done. I still don't understand baseball but what an awesome story and experience this was. I highly recommend it.

Seems historical fiction is the thing to read now.
Great read! First read from this author. This book makes me want to read more from this author. Kept my attention and interest until the end.

Home and Away is a book within a book. Harper Fleming works as a journalist for a Chicago newspaper and once again, the position for a sport's reporter has been given to a man. She quits and decides to go visit her grandfather in Nashville, Tennessee for the summer. When she arrives, he tells her that he found a box of his father's mementos. His dad, Kelton, played in the Negro Baseball League and she is excited to learn more about her great grandfather. His journals are in the box, so as she reads them, she decides to write his story. To protect her family's privacy, she calls her MC, Moses Gillian, and he plays for the Memphis Eagles.

I really enjoyed this book. It was like a dual timeline story, but the second timeline was her book based on Kelton's journals. I learned a lot about that time. Jim Crow laws were still observed in the south, and even though racism was not supposed to be as bad in the north, it definitely was. I didn't know about the Green Book, an annual guidebook that helped African American’s navigate the segregated and dangerous south. It shared where they could stay, eat, drink, shop etc. The teams traveled a lot and often played up to three games a day! They didn't make a lot, but it was better than working the fields or in the mines. The present day story had Harper meeting up with an old friend. He was a good friend of her brothers and spent a lot of time at their house growing up. As they have matured, they begin to have feelings for one another and perhaps, Harper might not return to Chicago? I enjoyed both of these storylines and think this book is a good one to show that although African Americans have more rights and freedoms than they did back in the 20s to the 40s, there is still a long way to go.

Harper Fleming has left behind her job with a Chicago paper and her on again/off again boyfriend to spend the summer with her grandfather in Tennessee. For too long she has waited for the opportunity to be promoted to a sportswriter, only to get excuses as to why she isn't right for the job, including the fact that she's a woman. One of her favorite places to visit during her childhood summers was her grandparents farm. She hopes to recreate that feeling of comfort and security by staying with her recently widowed grandfather and finally write the book she's been wanting to write about her great-grandfather and his time in the Negro Baseball Leagues during the 1930's and 1940's. Perhaps along the way, she can redefine her own life.

Harper's grandfather had saved all of his father's journals from his father's time playing baseball. He never had the desire to read them, but he was willing to let Harper do so, and they would become the main source for her novel. She decided against writing a biography of her great-grandfather's life, knowing it might tarnish her family's reputation she discover any sort of scandal, especially given her father's public life as a former professional baseball player, now sports broadcaster. The story of Harper rediscovering what it is she truly wants in life is interwoven with that of the novel she is writing, the story of a fictional baseball player who is desperate to play ball, loosely based on her great-grandfather's life.

While I appreciate what the author was trying to accomplish with the novel, the novel within the novel aspect did not entirely work for me. Perhaps the meta novel was meant to be a snapshot of what Harper was writing, but I did not read it that way. I was expecting it to hold its own along side the contemporary storyline. And so it seemed like certain aspects were rushed and others left incomplete, leaving me wanting more. Even so, I thought the overall novel had a lot going for it too. The main and minor characters, including those in Harper's novel, were all well-developed with strong backstories. I was fully invested in Moses, Winnie, and Sallie-Ann's stories just as much as I was Harper's and her old childhood friend Cheney's stories. I especially liked those moments when Harper reflected on the characters she created, relating them to her own life just as much as she did with her great-grandfather's story and history itself.

I found Harper to be a very relatable character. Her fierce independence and wanting to prove to the world that she was able to do it all on her own, is something I can relate to. She is also very protective of her heart. Running into her brothers' old childhood friend and getting reacquainted with him causes her to have to re-evaluate some of the rules she's put in place. I loved her grandfather. There's one scene in which he confronts Harper with some hard truths and her life in general, and even I admit they made me stop and think.

While Harper's main character, Moses, is the main focus of her novel, the women she wrote about stood out even more for me. While some of them took on more tradition roles in their lives, others, like Winnie, the owner of her own baseball league, definitely was not. All of the women in Rochelle Alers novel were strong and intelligent women.

There is a lot of baseball talk and baseball history in the novel, which may be off-putting to those not interested in the sport, but regardless, the history was fascinating. I knew so little of the Negro Baseball Leagues going into this novel, and now I find myself wanting to know more. Alers also gives us a look at life in the South (and beyond) during the 1930’s and 1940’s, with the Jim Crow laws and prejudice against people of color on high display. The fear these baseball players felt going into some of these towns, the discrimination they faced, was all too real. It wasn’t unheard of for them to be taken advantage of by their own league owners, having them sign contracts they couldn’t read because they hadn’t been afforded the opportunity to learn. The contrasts between the treatment of the Black players in Latin America where they played in the winter was immense. It made coming back to the U.S. in the spring particularly difficult and frustrating.

I thought this would be a perfect book to feature this month, for Black History Month. Not only does it feature a popular American past-time, but it also reflects a part of US history, both good and bad. As I see headlines today of attacks on diversity programs in workplaces and in education, it makes me sad—and mad. Mad that the powerful are championing the cause of racists, misogynists, ableists, and ageists to discriminate against those who appear differently than they do. These baseball players were amazing at their sport and many were probably better than their white counterparts. But because they were Black, they were looked down upon and treated poorly. Diversity programs in schools and in workplaces were set up to help educate and prevent discrimination and to create equal opportunity. The benefits of such programs have been documented over and over again. It would be nice if such programs weren’t necessary, but we’re already seeing the reasons why they are still very much needed—just by looking around and hearing what is going on in our communities and around the country today.

Such an informative historical fiction story on Negro baseball league and segregation. Harper is a city girl from Chicago that decides to stay with her grandfather after a work issue and needs an escape. She wants to go back to her family roots in Tennessee and write a book about her great grandfather under the alias Moses to give her family privacy. This book was a page turner with so much information, the Green book for safe travels, & a story that unfolds with Moses and Sallie Anne. Harper continues to write to her hearts desire and while on a break runs into a childhood crush that confesses his feelings for her. Harper uses every excuse in the book to fight off the mutual feelings because she wants to finish her book and swears she doesn’t need a man in her life. I really loved that the story bounced back and forth to the present with Harper and the past with “Moses”. The only reason why it wasn’t a five star read was because it seemed a bit rushed at the end with both stories. I loved the authors writing style and would definitely read more of her work. Thankful for a complimentary copy for my honest opinion.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this one as it took a while to get interesting. While obviously the author did a lot of research and I learned about a part of history I knew nothing about, I'm not very passionate about baseball. And the changing between past and present seemed a bit abrupt, it didn't flow easily. However, the story evolved more into relationships and became much more enjoyable as the different timelines intertwined. Overall it was a worthwhile read and I'm glad I stuck with it. My thanks to Kensington Publishing for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Loved this book! It was a story inside a story. Harper Fleming quits her job and goes to spend time with her grandfather in Nashville. While she’s there she learns about her great grandfather, who played baseball in the Negro Leagues. Harper wrote a fictionalized story of her great grandfather based on his notebooks.
I love how the author weaved a ton of history in this book. It really sent me down a rabbit hole of research. As a huge New York Yankee fan, I appreciated all of the baseball history. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Many thanks to the author, Kensington Publishing, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

As a baseball and history lover, I was intrigued by this story.

This is a dual timeline with two different POV.

Harper is frustrated with being passed over for promotions at the newspaper she is a journalist. When push comes to shove, she quits and goes to spend the summer with her great grandfather. Harper has heard about her great grandfather's time in the Negro Baseball Leagues.

Kelton does not want to discuss his time in the Negro Baseball Leagues or anything to do with that time in history. Harper finds a treasure trove of journals, love notes and other memorabilia in his attic. In an effort to protect her family's reputation, she decides to write a fictional story about Moses Gillian and weaves in facts of her great grandfather's life.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I would give book a minimum of 4.5 stars. It is historical fiction, but it is a story within a story. You get snippets of the past interwoven into present times.

This story starts out at a pivotal moment. The main character, Harper, learns she will not be promoted to sports journalist. She decides to leave Chicago and head to Nashville to 1) spend the summer with her grandfather, Bernard, and 2) write a novel about her great-grandfather, Kelton, who played in the Negro baseball league.

Harper has lived a privileged life, but is struggling to find herself. Bernard, gives Harper his father's journals, and Harper takes on the task of writing her great-grandfather's story. She learns about family drama, family trauma, and family secrets. I absolutely loved how Harper writes bits of herself into the characters of her book and notices the parallels. I wasn't expecting a love story, but the author snuck that in, as well.

I truly enjoyed reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC of this wonderful story.

The game of baseball is often used as a metaphor for life, and Rochelle Alers does use a few metaphors in her historical novel titled Home and Away. The title refers to baseball, in this case, the Negro Leagues baseball teams. The story is told from two perspectives, present and past. The author has chosen a female journalist as her protagonist for the present, which is fitting, as the story also highlights the social status of women, particularly women of color, even in today’s world.

Harper Fleming is the daughter of a former star baseball player, and she’s been promised a chance at a sportswriter position at the Chicago newspaper where she’s employed. But she’s been passed over time and again; finally, enough is enough, and she gives her notice. She decides to drive down to Nashville to spend the summer with her elderly grandfather, who is thrilled to have her. She spends her time cooking his meals, cleaning, doing his laundry, and – oh, something else!

Harper’s great-grandfather, Kelton Fleming, had played professional baseball for the Memphis Eagles. She’s thrilled to learn that he had kept journal and that her grandfather had all his writings in boxes in the attic. This becomes the other part of the story, although Harper decides that she doesn’t want to air all her family’s “dirty laundry” in public. She creates a fictional character, Moses Gilliam, an 18-year-old who is not just a baseball phenom. He is smart enough to have turned down college scholarships when he could have gone to law school or medical school. He comes across as business-savvy, and he’s also a gentleman when it comes to young ladies. He is always kind and considerate to the young woman he meets in a bar and almost immediately decides she might be “the one.”

For those who don’t appreciate baseball, don’t worry. The book is not saturated with details about the sport. As someone who grew up following Major League Baseball, this was rather disappointing. The Negro Leagues still existed when I was a young girl, but only until sometime into the 1960s, I believe. Even so, I was familiar with some of the names – Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, of course; Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Minnie Minoso too.

However, the book is filled with tales of the road – home and away. Racism abounded. It was the age of Jim Crow, and players had to be aware of where they could and could not go in each city. White fans sometimes harassed the players, and players could be fined or suspended for fighting back. Kelton’s journals are also rife with recollections of sexism and philandering.

Meanwhile, Harper maintains that when the book is finished and summer is over, she’s returning to Chicago to look for another job. Unless – a certain someone she knows from her high school days turns out to be “the one.” Maybe there’s a “home run” in her future after all?

The author’s writing style didn’t immediately grab me. In fact, it wasn’t until well into the book that I really felt engaged with the characters. I did appreciate the history and the message, but the characters felt a bit stilted. Could this have been appropriate for the period? I don’t know, but I found that a bit of a road block. Nonetheless, I did find the finale to be quite satisfactory.

I received a digital copy of Home and Away as an ARC. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Ms. Rochelle Alers.

4 stars

About 30% of the way through, I just knew this was going to be a 5-star read for me! Watching our main character, Harper, bring her great-grandfather's journals to life in a novel was enjoyable , and the dual timeline made it even better. I absolutely loved the little history bits sprinkled throughout the story! I found myself Googling the people and moments mentioned, eager to learn more. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, you’ve got to pick this one up ASAP! Trust me, it’s that good!

I enjoyed this two books in one stories. Which was told by Harper Fleming as she is trying to get her life together. She decided to spend the summer with her grandfather in Nashville and discover her great grandfather journals and his life as a ballplayer in The Negro Leagues. Both stories turned into a full circle moment as the past, repeat in the present. I really enjoyed going along on the journey through this family history. I received this book as an ARC.q

This book is a sprawling family saga with a dual timeline. It’s beautifully written with strong themes of community and Black culture. The pace is leisurely, more an unfolding of the story, without a strong narrative drive.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I’m not a huge baseball fan, but I do occasionally get interested in historical teams from long ago. So, this novel about a young woman’s quest to learn more about her great-grandfather’s life as a player in a Negro league did not disappoint. Alternating between modern-day and the years of segregated baseball teams, the author offers many details about the times before the “color barrier” in America’s pastime was crossed.

*I received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

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.

DNF at 31%. I had hoped I’d like this, because Rochelle Alers’ last epic historical fiction surprised me and blew me away, but clearly I’m the wrong audience for this. I love diving into Black history, and appreciate how Alers captures it, but this book was so slow, and I just don’t care enough about baseball to be really invested. And the blurb is really misleading, at least thus far. Harper’s presence is only in the beginning, and then we go for chapters in the past, and I hate when a book is dual timeline when it really doesn’t need to be because one timeline feels superfluous.

*Thank you to the publisher, Kensington Publishing for providing me with copy via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*

Last year, I read Take The Long Way Home by Rochelle Alers and fell in love with the writing, the characters, and the plot. When I discovered the author was working on a new novel, I couldn't help but be curious about the story. The title, Home And Away , caught my eye first; I think that just the cover itself will have you picking up the book and reading the summary. When I discovered that the book was about baseball, I knew I wanted to read it because it is one of my favorite sports to watch, and I have read a few books on it. However, I never read a novel like Home and Away, which gave a new perspective about baseball during the 1930s. It gave me a view of how much different it was back then, and what some of the players had to endure back then.

Home And Away told two storylines in one. I enjoyed reading Harper's and Moses' stories of being a baseball player in the 1930s.I loved reading both Harper’s story and Moses during the 1930’s as a baseball player. I enjoyed reading both of perspectives in this story, however I was more intrigued to Moses' story and found it difficult to put it down while reading it since I wanted to see what was going to happen. I loved how the two stories intertwined and how Harper could share her family's story without revealing everything at once. I admired how committed she was in her writing and the characters she created, which reminded me of myself when I get a chance to write.

The story completely captivated me; if I didn't have work or school to do, I could read for hours. I felt the same emotions that Harper and Moses did. I felt like I was part of Harper and Moses' journey. I thought the story's ending was a little rushed, but overall, I liked everything about it and couldn't get enough. I have feeling that I will be re-reading this story again in the future. This is the second book I've read by Rochelle Alers and I'm already in love with her writing. She has a way of grabbing readers’ attention from the first page. I am excited to see what she has in store for us next.

Alers makes life as a player in the Negro Leagues come alive in this novel about Harriet a frustrated sportswriter who sets out to write a novel about the fictional Moses, who is based on her real life grandfather. This is both education and entertaining with wonderful detail. The storytelling will have even those who have never been to a ball game turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This would also be a good one for the YA crowd.

Fascinating dual time line story about Harper, a young woman from Chicago trying to figure out her path in life. She moved to Nashville after quitting her journalism job to be with her grandpa for the summer. She read his dad's journals about being in the Negro Baseball League in the 1930s and 1940s. Harper decides to write a fictionalized book about his time as a ball player. So the two story lines are present day as Harper navigates life and embedded story of the book she is writing about the past as Moses, her great-grandfather, learns about life in the baseball world.
I loved how the two story lines are connected and enjoyed both of them. Moses gives us a glimpse of the ups and downs of the traveling and dealing with racism as well as his time playing winter ball in Mexico, Cuba, etc.
Harper's story has her reconnecting with a man that was friend's with her brothers and she finds that they enjoy each other's company. She takes the time to figure out what is important and what she wants out of life, with a little guidance from her grandfather. The fictional character of Moses was created to tell her great-grandfather's, Kelton Fleming, story of being a super star batter and being recruited to play for the Memphis Eagles.
If you are looking for an immersive historical fiction/contemporary story, I highly recommend this book!
#HomeandAway #NetGalley #historicalfiction
Thank you Kensington Publishing and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I haven't read a book by Rochelle Alers since my young adult years, and let me say she has not lost her touch. This book was absolutely amazing! I fell in love with the characters and two characters' love story in particular. Once you start reading you will not want to stop.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.