Cotton Club Princess, Karla Diggs
Cotton Club Princess, Karla Diggs
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Cotton Club Princess

Author: Karla Diggs

Narrator: Tamika Katon-Donegal

Unabridged: 11 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/21/2022


Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Nostalgia Richardson has lived all her life in the rural township of Spivey’s Grove, South Carolina, but that has not stopped her from dreaming of running away to Harlem to become a showgirl at the world famous Cotton Club.

One night when she comes home from work she finds her father in the company of Noah Holdtstaff, the most notorious bootlegger in town. Later, Nostalgia’s 14-year-old sister, Lily, divulges their father’s plans to marry her off to the 49-yearold Noah. To escape the ominous fate, Nostalgia goes to work as usual the next
day, scheming to sneak off to the bus station to leave for New York City. Just prior to her audition for The Cotton Club, Nostalgia learns there was money involved in the deal their father made with Noah, forcing Lily to marry the miscreant instead.

From 1928–1935, Nostalgia and Lily communicate through a series of letters in which Nostalgia lives the glamorous life hobnobbing with the talented elite of the Harlem Renaissance. Lily, fueled by her ardent affair with milkman Henry Whit, uses Noah’s love for pig’s feet and penchant for hustling reefer to concoct a
scheme to absolve her dreadful marriage. Set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age, and the Great Depression, these two spunky heroines are determined to live, love, and excel on their own terms!

Reviews

A complete and utter joy to read. Cotton Club Princess, the first novel by Karla Diggs, explores the complex history of race, traditional family expectations, misogyny, in this coming of age story set mostly against the backdrop of Harlem NYC with ties to South Carolina lingering in the background.......more

Goodreads review by Jenn

While this story was a bit more interesting than the multitude of others along the same lines (backwards country girl makes it in the big city), the story itself has been told before. The only difference was the main character's race. This added a new dimension to the novel, which I hadn't seen befo......more

Goodreads review by lindaT

Engrossing! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It told an engrossing story, and the characters were very well developed. I'm ready for the sequel!......more

Goodreads review by Tracy

Loved this book and the relationship of the characters!......more