All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore

In 1837, Charlotte has escaped her life as a slave only to serve as a housemaid to her white-passing father in Philadelphia. Longing for more freedom but afraid of slave-catchers, Charlotte befriends Nell, an up-and-coming abolitionist from a prominent Black family. When Charlotte’s former mistress arrives with her slave Evie in tow, Charlotte and Nell risk losing everything to help Evie gain her freedom.

Ashton Lattimore’s promising debut is a solid historical fiction with a great setting and interesting characters. I especially enjoyed the look at racism and classism, especially within the Black community. However, All We Were Promised was a bit rough around the edges. The slow plot would have easily been improved with heavier editing, cutting the length and needless repetition down. However, my biggest complaint was that the narration always keeps you at a distance; I saw the characters struggles but never truly felt them myself. I do think Lattimore’s novels will improve with time and I’m excited to see what she has in store in the future.