READ TO ME from... The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.

The PROPHETS by Robert Jones, Jr., is set on an antebellum plantation in Mississippi. The two main characters are two black boys, almost men, Samuel and Isaiah, both enslaved and in love with each other. Their love is this one bit of beauty in a place called Empty — until they’re betrayed by another enslaved man. Though happiness of any kind was never long in a place like Empty.

We get to read a piece near the end. It’s maybe 15 percent spoiler-y, but hearing it really will not affect your reading, because the book is so rich, so wild with voices of ancestors and characters and the land, and so fierce with action.

The character here is Maggie, an enslaved black woman, older, who was forced to work in the house. The only other thing you might need to know is that toubab means white person, white slaver.

This book is a wonder. Let’s read.