Black Cake

Author: Charmaine Wilkerson

Who Picked the Book: Amberly

One-sentence summary: A woman reveals her complicated and secret past to her children after her death.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: This was a really good, engaging story.

Our least favorite thing about it: There were a few plot points that stretched reality a bit.

Main Topics of Discussion: Family, Truth, Secrets, Adoption, Abandonment

Our favorite quote: "And this is what I need you two to understand: You have always known who I am. Who I am is your mother. This is the truest part of me."

Notes: We really enjoyed reading this book, and that is one of the most important things to us! It was a good story, with a unique and vivid setting. We loved learning more about the island culture and the black cake (which none of us had heard of before). We were interested in the Chinese history in the Caribbean Islands - something else we knew little about. 

Overall we enjoyed how the story unfolded slowly. Some of the things that were revealed at the end seemed like they could have been revealed earlier - the cause of Covey's death, for one. Many times we wished characters would have taken different actions (Covey's father taking her and leaving the island vs. selling her to Little Man), but these things were fairly easy to overlook in service to the broader plot. 

We talked a lot about secrets and abandonment since those were two large themes. Many of us were also surprised by the big reveal at the end - who had really killed Little Man. It was nice to not be able to guess that (for some of us!). 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We watched the first episode of the Hulu series, Black Cake, based on the book. It was fun and interesting to see what they changed for the series. 

What We Ate: Amberly ordered several pizzas for us to try from a new pizza place, Dough Gourmet Pizza. We liked them all! She also had popcorn and an elaborate candy bar set up for us! And finally, she had ordered an authentic black cake for us to try! It was surprisingly good - dense and moist from the soaked and pureed fruit. However, some of us did not like the unique taste. But what fun to try the book's namesake!