The Sweetest Hallelujah is a story about an unlikely friendship during the most unlikely times. Set in 1955, in the racist south a black woman, who was once one of the most famous jazz singers of her time, Betty Jewel is now terminally ill with cancer. Facing the awful truth that her only daughter, Billie,will grow up motherless, she does the unthinkable and puts an advertisement in the newspaper pleading for someone to have the heart to take in her child once she has passed on. What Betty Jewel finds in her most desperate time of need is a best friend whose love transcends all racial boundaries.
This book was simply a phenomenal read, filled with a plethora of feelings from start to finish. The Sweetest Hallelujah started off with a plot twist that makes you never want to put the book down because once Betty Jewel’s secret is divulged, you can’t help but wonder the entire book if things will ever be resolved or work out. I found myself quite distraught during the entire book simply because the way Peggy connects you to each character and their problems become yours, it’s as if you are living this story, you feel like you are one of Betty Jewels dear friends watching as everything unfolds. I loved every moment of this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for one of those novels that sticks for you forever as one of your favorites. Actually I would just recommend it to anyone looking for a good novel to read in general, it’s that good.
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