Title: The Filling Station
By: Vanessa Miller
Pub. Day: March 11, 2025

Genre:
Fiction, Historical, African American, Race,
With a dash of Christianity!

Trigger Warnings:
Racism, Violence, Loss, Persecution,

Memorable Quotes:
“Why do they hate us? What have we ever done to them?

Summary/Review:
Evelyn and Margaret are two sisters growing up in Oklahoma in the 1920’s. On one particular evening, the sisters' lives are stuck with tragedy and as the aftermath of chaos ensues the sisters journey to “The Filling Station” for safety and security, until the past haunts Evelyn and Margaret and quickly resurfaces.

This is my first novel by Vanessa Miller and I can’t wait to read her other books. Miller takes the reader on a journey back into an era marked by cruelty and suffering. A harrowingly dark time period of injustice and hatred. Some of the characters were real individuals who truly suffered first hand effects of these injustices. The author delivers a powerful and emotionally raw story that can be tough to take in at times causing me to take this novel in doses. I started the novel on my kindle, however, was given the audio and quickly began alternating between the two versions. The audio was very well done, the narrator brought the story to life, using versions of her voice and tone to create additional elements of the narrative. I highly recommend this novel! It’s written like none other. .

Thank you to Vanessa Millerl, Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for the opportunity of an Advanced Readers Copy. I am voluntarily leaving my review.

#TheFillingStation
#VanessaMiller
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#ThomasNelsonFiction
#NetGalley

This history cannot be erased. A historical fiction book about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that destroyed what was called Black Wall Street.


Follow two sisters' journey of survival and recovery from one of the worst events in American history. Margaret and Evelyn Justice, who grew up in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, flee to the Threatt family filing station after the massacre. There, they try to rebuild and cope with the aftermath of the tragedy. And each sister copes in their own way. This story is raw in that many of the themes still exist today. That is the killing of Black joy and excellence. The sister's psychological trauma is well expressed and portrayed in this book. I felt for each sister and their differing views on what to do to recover.
I asked the same questions Margaret asked, and ask those same questions in light of what is happening in this country today.
Once again, this author has shown the depth of her research into these events. Her research skills are to be praised! I love the added historical facts at the beginning of some chapters, as heartbreaking as they were. A mix of romance and showing of black love help to balance out the traumatic events in the book.
If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is a must-read!
Rounded up from 4.5 Stars

The Filling Station by Vanessa Miller
I learned so much about a tragedy that I had never known about.
In a repulsive time of American History there were few options for Black Americans to get things like fuel for cars or rest during a long drive along Route 66. So much more than a place to buy gas, the Threatt Filling Station was a place to fill up more than an automobile. It was a place to refuel your souls and your spirits. For two sisters, it was a life line during their escape from the tragic 1921 Tulse Race Masacre.
The two sisters struggle with love, loss, racism, and surviving the time they are living in. They face the pain of returning to Greenwood as it is being rebuilt in hopes that the hope they bring will be a catalyst to change things and present solidarity in their community going forward.
This was a heart-wrenching story, so well written, exploring an important event that should never be forgotten. I loved it! The characters were well developed and the story was so well organized and it was excellent!
I would like to Thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of both the e-book and the audiobook.
The audio narration was phenomenal and the voice given to the characters brought them to life. It was a pleasure to listen and read this awesome story and I really appreciate the author bringing this piece of history to the present in such a well written novel! 4.5/5⭐

This moving historical novel offers a heartfelt, faith-filled story of resilience in the face of one of the darkest chapters in American history. Centered around sisters Margaret and Evelyn Justice, the book paints a vivid portrait of life in Tulsa’s Greenwood District—Black Wall Street—before and after the devastating 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Margaret and Evelyn are relatable and richly drawn characters. Margaret, grounded and hopeful, dreams of teaching and family, while Evelyn, ambitious and stylish, has her heart set on the East Coast and a career in fashion design. Their diverging paths are violently redirected when tragedy strikes, leaving them clinging to each other and the fragments of their former life.

The Threatt Filling Station becomes more than just a stop along Route 66; it symbolizes refuge, healing, and the unexpected power of sanctuary. The scenes here are deeply reflective, as the sisters confront their trauma and wrestle with a shaken faith. The narrative doesn’t shy away from the emotional and spiritual weight of such immense loss, but it also highlights the strength of Black womanhood and the beauty of sisterhood in survival.

What makes this novel particularly compelling is its balance—historical detail is layered seamlessly into the narrative without feeling heavy-handed, and the prose is tender, sometimes poetic, always sincere. The pacing slows a bit in the middle, especially during the sisters’ internal reckonings, but it picks up again as the story shifts back toward action and purpose.

Ultimately, this is a story of reclamation—not just of place, but of identity, purpose, and faith. The Justice sisters may lose everything, but what they gain in each other and in the spirit of their community is powerful and lasting.

An inspiring and necessary read that honors the past while pointing toward a hopeful, hard-earned future.

4.5 stars

I finished reading The Filling Station a couple of weeks ago but haven’t been able to come up with adequate words to describe how I feel about what I read. It feels wrong on some level to say ‘I enjoyed it’ because the not-so-distant history it recounts was deeply sobering. It feels incomplete to say ‘it moved me’ and disingenuous to say ‘it opened my eyes’… for the same reason. But the truth is that I DID enjoy it – the story is well-written and engaging, the characters are layered, and the exploration of home and faith is thoughtfully done. And it DID move me and open my eyes by putting me in the shoes of people who lived through this horrible massacre. And yes, the historical event around which it revolves is appalling and wicked and grievous and please, Lord, let it never happen again. But Hope is always there if you know where to look, and as such I was inspired and uplifted by the resiliency of the survivors who were determined to not let those responsible for the Tulsa Race Massacre get the final word.

Margaret and Evelyn Justice are vibrant young ladies who live in Tulsa’s prosperous Greenwood District (also known as Black Wall Street) with their father. These very different sisters do share at least one thing in common – they both have big dreams for the future. My heart broke for them as those dreams shattered overnight, as they instead literally ran for their lives amid the sea of chaos and horrified disbelief of their home burning, their father missing, and evil raging around them for no reason other than that they were Black. The author’s vivid writing really put me in those scenes, feeling the fear and confusion and grief on their behalf and on behalf of the people who really lived it. Because, through the snippets she includes at the beginning of each chapter, Miller also exposes us to accounts from real-life survivors whose lives were irrevocably altered by those two days of terror in 1921. Reading these testimonies made me want to spend some time studying more about the Tulsa Race Massacre after I finished the novel, and I applaud the author for writing a story which compels us to continue learning from the history it recounts in hopes of making sure it never repeats itself.

The Filling Station also emphasized to me anew the importance of being available as the hands and feet of Jesus at a moment’s notice, irrespective of any inconvenience or danger it may pose for you. God bless people like the Threatts who were already known as a safe haven and were able to offer the sisters protection and a temporary home (because sadly – which is too mild a word – Black people couldn’t trust just any house or business to provide aid, even during such a depraved attack). This is when glimmers of hope began to shine through the darkness of hate, and it provided readers a breath of relief even as it did the same for the characters. Peace is understandably a little harder to come by, and the sisters each had very different ways of searching for it, adding further layers to their plot arcs and to the story itself. The author’s exploration of trauma and shaken faith – and how we all react individually based on our personalities and experiences – really resonated with me, and I appreciated her particular approach here.

Bottom Line: One of the reasons I love story is how it helps me see life from someone else’s perspective, how it enables me to walk a mile alongside people whose experiences or culture or history is different from mine, and how, in so doing, it also teaches me lessons that forever mark my heart. The Filling Station by Vanessa Miller expanded my awareness of the Tulsa Race Massacre by letting me see it through the eyes of those who survived it, not only in the fictional characters she created for this novel but in the real-life testimonies she included too. It’s an emotional story and a tough one to read sometimes, but there are many lessons to take away from its telling for those whose hearts are willing to listen. Hate is exposed on these pages, yes, but so is hope, and so is the kind of Love that makes hope possible. The Filling Station should be on everyone’s must-read list.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

The Filling Station by Vanessa Miller is a historical fiction novel that explores the tragedy and aftermath of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. It is a story of resilience and faith and Ms. Miller did a vast amount of research to tell the story of a time in history that has only had mass media exposure in recent years. The novel spans the time immediately preceding the massacre and the years following as the residents work to rebuild Greenwood. Sisters, Margaret and Evelyn, struggle to rebuild and move forward after losing their father the night of the massacre. Eventually, they make a tumultuous peace within themselves and go on to live lives clouded by tragedy; but, hopeful of a future. The novel also focuses on the Threatt Filling Station which was a haven of refuge for Black travelers along Route 66. This book is emotional and heartbreaking with a glimmer of faith that continues to shine even on the darkest days. Thank you to #NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers for an advance copy of this book.

Once again, Vanessa Miller sheds light on another story every American should know. In The Filling Station, Miller goes beyond telling the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. She digs deeper and takes us to Threatt Filling Station, Black-owned gas station right outside of Tulsa, where victims find a safe space to process the devastation they experienced rebuild their lives. A great blend of history and fiction.

A beautiful character-driven novel that both informs about the Tulsa Race Massacre and provides a deep and powerful story about sisters, hope, and community.

Set following the events of the Tulsa Race Massacre, The Filling Station follows two sisters as they escaped those events and worked to restart their lives afterwards. The filling station itself is a real location that was around during those events. I thought Vanessa Miller did a good job of describing the racism present in the area, which is still present today. Each chapter starts with either a quote from someone or an organization that dealt with the Tulsa Race Massacre. I liked that she added that extra little bit to the novel.

Although I did find the book a little too heavy-handed with its preaching, literally, towards the later part of the novel, it didn't feel overall religious. I know the author is a Christians Fiction author. I'm not one to gravitate towards Christian Fiction in any way and I'm glad this one wasn't marketed as such. If it was I definitely would have stayed away. My past experiences with Christian Fiction have been really heavy handed in the religious overtones of the novels, which isn't my jam.

Overall The Filling Station was an enlightening reading experience. I knew about the Tulsa Race Massacre prior to reading this, but not really the events afterwards. It was nice to see how the Black community came back to Greenwood after those events, even in a historical fiction setting. I partially listened to this book and would also recommend the audiobook.

DNF’s at 19%.

In about 2016, I read a YA book about the Tulsa Race Massacre that I absolutely loved. Since then, I’ve been impatiently waiting for an adult telling. When I saw The Filling Station, I was so excited!

It does not live up to expectations. The massacre happens in the first 50 pages— before I have time to care about the characters.

Secondly, the characters are both too mature and too naive for their ages.

Thirdly, the didactic inclusion of God is too much. It seems like every other page, Jesus/God/church is mentioned.

It’s a great concept of a story with poor execution.

I am new to the historical fiction genre and have been enjoying it so much lately. This novel speaking on the Tulsa Race Massacre and I feel like this story should be told me. I can't wait to read more by this author. Historical fiction can be super touchy and can go wrong when the stories are not accurately told. I did not find that to be the case with this novel. Thank you to netgalley for this e-ARC.

Vanessa Miller did her thing with this book! The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the most horrific moments in American History. Ms. Miller gave us the fear, frustration, and determination of the people who lived through that experience.

Though historical fiction, there are many real facts weaved within the story. (Make sure to check out the author's note at the end). Margaret & Evelyn stole my heart. They expressed their grief in different ways, but these sisters were very much united in love.

Margaret's struggle with her faith in God was very real (IYKYK). Who hasn't doubted God at some point? Elijah was a breath of fresh air. His patience and prayers were just what they needed. When he compared the filling station fueling cars to the way the Bible fuels his spirit...👏🏾👏🏾🙌🏾

I didn't know much about this time period, but you can bet I've been researching alot since opening this book. Run to get this book immediately!

I first learned about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 during lockdown. My daughter showed me a TikTok video about the two-day white supremacist terrorist attack that devastated the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma—an area once nicknamed "Black Wall Street" by Booker T. Washington. Mobs of white residents brutally attacked Black residents, burning down their homes and businesses.

Fast forward to today, and I can’t help but feel that history—especially the history of marginalized people—is being erased in so many places. That’s why I jumped at the chance to read Vanessa Miller’s new historical novel, The Filling Station (@authorvanessamiller).

The story follows two sisters, Margaret and Evelyn, who survive the Tulsa Race Massacre and show incredible strength as they try to rebuild their lives while coping with grief and trauma.

While Margaret and Evelyn are fictional, many of the characters in the book are based on real people, and the events of the massacre are rooted in historical fact. Shockingly, it was even more horrific than just two days of destruction—the deeper I read, the angrier and sadder I became for the families who lived through it.

There’s also a spiritual thread woven through the story, especially as one of the sisters grapples with her faith and wonders how anyone could find comfort in God after enduring so much pain.

I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of historical fiction. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC.

I really appreciated and was moved by this fictional story about this historical event that I had never heard of before. This book gives a good idea of the terrible massacre of 1921 and what for impacts it had on the lives of the people of Tulsa/Greenwood/United States. It's so important to read this kind of books to understand better history and the consequences of such past for all of us. Those stories are essentials for everyone to learn about the discriminations that African American faces and to work toward a society where this kind of story become unimaginable. Thank you to the author for teaching us (through this amazing work of fiction) about this important history. Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

You can’t change the past. You can, however, forget it. Or bury it so that it is barely spoken of. The Filling Station speaks of a critical ‘lost’ moment in American history with courage, integrity, and grace.

Greenwood, 1921: Just outside Tulsa is Greenwood, a thriving community known as Black Wall Street, where folks not welcomed in the white-owned stores of the city can spend their money at movie theaters and entertainment venues, beauty shops, and clothing stores. It’s a haven for the maids, cooks, laundresses, and other working-class people who help keep Tulsa going. The families there have all prospered, and their children go to college or take over the enterprises left to them by their parents. Margaret and Evelyn Justice are two such young ladies. Margaret has just finished getting a university degree and plans to teach, while her younger sister Evelyn is graduating from Booker T. Washington High School that weekend. Evelyn plans to head to New York to get a fashion design degree after spending a lazy summer having fun with her sister. Both girls are determinedly ignoring all the whispers and agitation around town being caused by the possible lynching of Dick Rowland, a young man arrested for allegedly accosting a white woman in an elevator over in Tulsa.

Pretending the problem doesn’t exist becomes much more complicated when graduation practice is canceled and Evelyn is forced to go home while Margaret, at the movies with her dad, is surprised when the film is turned off midway, and they are forced to leave. Margaret heads back to the house, but her father joins other men on the street who are arming themselves in an effort to protect their families. A white mob descends on the city, and it isn’t long before bullets are flying and buildings are burning. Rather than putting an end to the massacre taking place, police help the rioters, and the once prosperous residents of Greenwood find themselves fleeing with little more than the clothes on their backs, Margaret and Evenlyn among them. The two barely make it out of their home after an incendiary device sets it ablaze.

Their escape from the city is horrifying. They watch the local doctor, unarmed, be shot in front of his home. Old women are yanked off the streets and shoved into cattle cars by the National Guard. After a long night’s walk down what will eventually be called Route 66, hiding whenever they hear a car coming, they make it to Threatt Filling Station, where the kindly owner and his wife take them in. Evelyn, her dreams shattered and her soul traumatized, stays behind as Margaret, after a brief rest, heads back to Greenwood to search for her father and help rebuild the community where she was raised. What she finds when she arrives will force her to question all she knows about herself, her family, and her faith.

When we first meet Margaret, she doesn’t seem very strong, but that impression quickly changes once the riot begins. With her father missing in action, she takes on the role of parent and promptly gathers the courage and drive to get herself and Evelyn out alive. As the novel progresses, we see her intelligence and will to thrive rise to the forefront over and over as she faces incredible odds to try to rebuild Greenwood. Margaret refuses to cower, even when it becomes clear that the white citizens of Tulsa do not intend to let their Black neighbors rebuild without a fight. The author carefully folds real history into everything happening around and to Margaret so that her tale reads like that of a genuine survivor.

Evelyn is just eighteen when the story begins. The baby of her family, with artistic leanings rather than the sharp intellectual/entrepreneurial pursuits that are the hallmark of Margaret’s character, she takes what happened a lot harder than her sister. Rather than fight, like Margaret, she wants to choose flight. The fact they no longer have the money for her to attend college is a devastating blow, and that she lost her sewing machine, beautiful dresses, and loving father all on the same night adds to her anguish. Throughout the book, we watch her struggle to regain her footing and discover the path she is meant to be on.

I actually loved that neither sister bounces back perfectly from their terrible experience. Evelyn makes bad decision after bad decision as she tries to figure out how she can turn back time and take the steps she’s always wanted to take, while Margaret becomes rather cold-hearted and loses her faith. Neither has an insta-healing, and neither ever stops mourning the horrible night (and awful days that followed) that they lived through.

The titular filling station is the Threatt Filling Station, a historic landmark in Oklahoma where many of the Black residents of Greenwood went when they fled their homes. One of the few Black-owned businesses along what is now Route 66, it served as a safe-haven for travelers and an entertainment destination for locals. It turns into a second home for Margaret and Evelyn, with Allen and Alberta Threatt treating them like members of their own family.

The story’s only flaw is that the romance between Elijah, the Threatt family’s farmhand, and Margaret doesn’t get enough exploration. We see it slowly unfold as he helps her rebuild her home, her life, and then her faith, but I would have enjoyed a more in-depth look at their courtship.

This is an Inspirational, so the examination of where God is when things on earth strongly resemble hell is explored, and the author does an absolutely fantastic job of handling this complex subject with grace, compassion, and wisdom. Margaret is never judged for her doubts nor fed platitudes to heal the anger and hate in her heart. Easy answers aren’t given because they don’t exist. This subject is woven naturally throughout the text and is both historically and culturally accurate.

There isn’t enough space in this review for all the trigger warnings I would need to give. The Tulsa Race Riot was a horrific event, and the first chapters of this novel are filled with violence and terror. The author’s detailed account of the aftermath is also chilling and heartbreaking.

Very rarely would I say that absolutely everyone should read a book, but The Filling Station is one such novel. The rich and vital American history contained in its pages should be known by all, and the story it tells is one that will stay with you long after you have finished it.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. This was an incredibly good book. It's a historical fiction that tells about the Tulsa race massacre and the filling station through the lens of 2 young women. It was a great way to learn a lot more in detail about those important parts of history. But I also got completely invested in the characters and their stories. Cannot recommend it enough.

Rounded up from 2.5. I have been in my historical fiction bag for a minute but unfortunately this fell flat for me. I just didn’t connect with the sisters at all and I wished there was more information around the Tulsa Massacre. I was happy to get an arc but after reading Queen Sugar and Harlem Rhapsody this was a little weaker.

Emotional and gripping.
Informative of a real time and place in history.

It does have a pretty prominent religious component, keep that in mind if it is or isn't for you.

Would definitely recommend to those who love historical fiction.

The author has done a wonderful job of researching this tragic time and made me truly feel like I was there during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The story and characters were brought to life in this fast paced novel by an author that truly loves telling us stories that matter. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

You can’t change the past. You can, however, forget it. Or bury it so that it is barely spoken of. The Filling Station speaks of a critical ‘lost’ moment in American history with courage, integrity, and grace.

Greenwood, 1921: Just outside Tulsa is Greenwood, a thriving community known as Black Wall Street, where folks not welcomed in the white-owned stores of the city can spend their money at movie theaters and entertainment venues, beauty shops, and clothing stores. It’s a haven for the maids, cooks, laundresses, and other working-class people who help keep Tulsa going. The families there have all prospered, and their children go to college or take over the enterprises left to them by their parents. Margaret and Evelyn Justice are two such young ladies. Margaret has just finished getting a university degree and plans to teach, while her younger sister Evelyn is graduating from Booker T. Washington High School that weekend. Evelyn plans to head to New York to get a fashion design degree after spending a lazy summer having fun with her sister. Both girls are determinedly ignoring all the whispers and agitation around town being caused by the possible lynching of Dick Rowland, a young man arrested for allegedly accosting a white woman in an elevator over in Tulsa.

Pretending the problem doesn’t exist becomes much more complicated when graduation practice is canceled and Evelyn is forced to go home while Margaret, at the movies with her dad, is surprised when the film is turned off midway, and they are forced to leave. Margaret heads back to the house, but her father joins other men on the street who are arming themselves in an effort to protect their families. A white mob descends on the city, and it isn’t long before bullets are flying and buildings are burning. Rather than putting an end to the massacre taking place, police help the rioters, and the once prosperous residents of Greenwood find themselves fleeing with little more than the clothes on their backs, Margaret and Evenlyn among them. The two barely make it out of their home after an incendiary device sets it ablaze.

Their escape from the city is horrifying. They watch the local doctor, unarmed, be shot in front of his home. Old women are yanked off the streets and shoved into cattle cars by the National Guard. After a long night's walk down what will eventually be called Route 66, hiding whenever they hear a car coming, they make it to Threatt Filling Station, where the kindly owner and his wife take them in. Evelyn, her dreams shattered and her soul traumatized, stays behind as Margaret, after a brief rest, heads back to Greenwood to search for her father and help rebuild the community where she was raised. What she finds when she arrives will force her to question all she knows about herself, her family, and her faith.

When we first meet Margaret, she doesn’t seem very strong, but that impression quickly changes once the riot begins. With her father missing in action, she takes on the role of parent and promptly gathers the courage and drive to get herself and Evelyn out alive. As the novel progresses, we see her intelligence and will to thrive rise to the forefront over and over as she faces incredible odds to try to rebuild Greenwood. Margaret refuses to cower, even when it becomes clear that the white citizens of Tulsa do not intend to let their Black neighbors rebuild without a fight. The author carefully folds real history into everything happening around and to Margaret so that her tale reads like that of a genuine survivor.

Evelyn is just eighteen when the story begins. The baby of her family, with artistic leanings rather than the sharp intellectual/entrepreneurial pursuits that are the hallmark of Margaret’s character, she takes what happened a lot harder than her sister. Rather than fight, like Margaret, she wants to choose flight. The fact they no longer have the money for her to attend college is a devastating blow, and that she lost her sewing machine, beautiful dresses, and loving father all on the same night adds to her anguish. Throughout the book, we watch her struggle to regain her footing and discover the path she is meant to be on.

I actually loved that neither sister bounces back perfectly from their terrible experience. Evelyn makes bad decision after bad decision as she tries to figure out how she can turn back time and take the steps she’s always wanted to take, while Margaret becomes rather cold-hearted and loses her faith. Neither has an insta-healing, and neither ever stops mourning the horrible night (and awful days that followed) that they lived through.

The titular filling station is the Threatt Filling Station, a historic landmark in Oklahoma where many of the Black residents of Greenwood went when they fled their homes. One of the few Black-owned businesses along what is now Route 66, it served as a safe-haven for travelers and an entertainment destination for locals. It turns into a second home for Margaret and Evelyn, with Allen and Alberta Threatt treating them like members of their own family.

The story's only flaw is that the romance between Elijah, the Threatt family’s farmhand, and Margaret doesn’t get enough exploration. We see it slowly unfold as he helps her rebuild her home, her life, and then her faith, but I would have enjoyed a more in-depth look at their courtship.

This is an Inspirational, so the examination of where God is when things on earth strongly resemble hell is explored, and the author does an absolutely fantastic job of handling this complex subject with grace, compassion, and wisdom. Margaret is never judged for her doubts nor fed platitudes to heal the anger and hate in her heart. Easy answers aren’t given because they don’t exist. This subject is woven naturally throughout the text and is both historically and culturally accurate.

There isn’t enough space in this review for all the trigger warnings I would need to give. The Tulsa Race Riot was a horrific event, and the first chapters of this novel are filled with violence and terror. The author’s detailed account of the aftermath is also chilling and heartbreaking.

Very rarely would I say that absolutely everyone should read a book, but The Filling Station is one such novel. The rich and vital American history contained in its pages should be known by all, and the story it tells is one that will stay with you long after you have finished it.