Little Tea is a heartwarming tale of friendship that is sure to ignite conversation.
Times change, but do people ever really change? Celia Wakefield gets a call from a friend in need, and she takes the opportunity to leave her husband and the stresses of life behind in California and travel back to the South where she grew up. Celia and her best girlfriends, Renny and Ava, spend a few days reminiscing and working through issues both old and new.
The Wakefield family owned a plantation in Mississippi and Little Tea’s family lived next door and worked as hired help. Even as a teen, Little Tea, Celia’s closest friend, recognized racial disparity for what it was. She mused, “I know times have changed for people of color, but there’s a residue that’ll stick around here forever. It’s a small world in Mississippi.” The story takes place in modern times with plenty of colorful flashbacks to the 1980’s. Much of the story gravitates toward the evolving ideas on racial integration in decades past and the lasting consequences. The honest dialogue is harsh and uncomfortable, but painfully realistic.
Claire Fullerton uses plenty of deep Southern colloquialisms to help charm and transport readers to a steamy southern summer night. Filled with impressive detail, Little Tea is a heartwarming tale of friendship that is sure to ignite conversation.
