The American Daughters

This first historical novel from Ruffin (author of the Story Prize–longlisted collection The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You) introduces readers to Sanite and her daughter Ady, both enslaved by a heartless New Orleans businessman but sustained by their fierce love for one another. After an unsuccessful run for freedom and Sanite’s death, a crushed Ady finds community at a local tavern run by a charismatic young free Black woman named Lenore. Ady grows closer to Lenore and is eventually entrusted with the secrets of a sisterhood determined to undermine the Confederacy at every turn, but Ady fears what may happen if her enslaver discovers their seditious plans. Ady’s journey from frightened child to empowered heroine is a gripping one, and Ruffin adds further interest to his story by interspersing passages throughout that frame Ady as a folk hero whose narrative has been shaped by many different authors with different intentions.