Wade in the Water

Name: Wade in the Water
ISBN: 9780063226616

Nyani Nkrumah

2023·310 pages

Literary Fiction

coming of age friendship friendship fiction self discovery

“"An impressive debut. Emotionally honest with lyricism and charm to spare, Nyani Nkrumah's Wade in the Water depicts in riveting detail a racially charged Mississippi town, the secrets it holds, and the precious heart and soul of a young girl deserving love."”
— Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of Our Gen and Tumbling

“"A dreamy, brutal, and revelatory reading experience that quickens the pulse and tugs the heart."”
— Diane McWhorter, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Carry Me Home

“"Fearless. . . . Vividly bring[s] to life rural 1980s Mississippi."”
— People

Set in 1982, in rural, racially divided Ricksville, Mississippi Wade in the Water tells the story of Ella, a black, unloved, precocious eleven-year-old, and Ms. St. James, a mysterious white woman from Princeton who appears in Ella's community to carry out some research. Soon, Ms. St. James befriends Ella, who is willing to risk everything to keep her new friend in a town that does not want her there. The relationship between Ella and Ms. St. James, at times loving and funny and other times tense and cautious, becomes more fraught and complex as Ella unwittingly pushes at Ms. St. James's carefully constructed boundaries that guard a complicated past, and dangerous secrets that could have devastating consequences. Told in two voices, Ella's and Ms. St. James's, and set around richly developed characters, this riveting, page turning coming of age story will keep readers entranced until the last shocking revelation.

↗Buy on Amazon ↗Buy on Bookshop

Wade in the Water

Nyani Nkrumah

Year

2023

Pages

310

Literary Fiction

Praise

“"An impressive debut. Emotionally honest with lyricism and charm to spare, Nyani Nkrumah's Wade in the Water depicts in riveting detail a racially charged Mississippi town, the secrets it holds, and the precious heart and soul of a young girl deserving love."”
— Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of Our Gen and Tumbling

“"A dreamy, brutal, and revelatory reading experience that quickens the pulse and tugs the heart."”
— Diane McWhorter, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Carry Me Home