Book Review: The Road from Money: A Journey To Find Why?

The Road from Money: A Journey To Find Why? Sylvester Boyd Jr. Outskirts Press, March 26, 2014, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 208 pages.

Reviewed by Opal Freeman.

The Road from Money: A Journey To Find Why? is a book of inspiration, encouragement, and education. Sylvester Boyd's excellent novel sketches the life of a young Negro girl in the 1920s as she comes to grips with the realities of life in the deep South.

We are introduced to the main character, Estella Reynolds, when she is an eight-year-old girl, born and raised in Money, Mississippi. She is a happy girl, smart and observant, always asking "why." As she becomes aware of the challenges she faces in Mississippi—brutality, poverty, racism, segregation, and working in the fields—she becomes aware that there is a better life away from the deep South.

She becomes the first person in her family to graduate from eighth grade and decides to use education as a means to a better life. After much preparation she leaves Mississippi to explore a whole new world. Her first journey is a long train ride to Chicago.

The author's writing provides a clear picture of the environment in which Estella and her family lived. His story illustrates how the perseverance, history, and strength of the Negro population helped them to survive some of the most difficult times in American history. I loved the book and was excited to read each page, discovering the growth and progress of Estella's life. This is the first book in a trilogy and I anxiously look forward to the next two novels. I highly recommend this book.