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My BOTM Pick for February: Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson; Retail $21
Back of Book Summary:
When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well.
The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England, the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby’s high profile romance falls apart without any explanation, that’s exactly what they get.
So Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her there. And as she tries to process what’s happened, she begins to think about the other loss her family suffered on that day eighteen years ago—the stoneware jar that had been in their family for generations, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. But little does she know that the handcrafted piece of pottery held more than just her family’s history—it might also hold the key to unlocking her own future.
My Summary
Since the day teenager Basil "Baz" Freeman was shot in a robbery in his family's home in a wealthy New England enclave, his sister Ebony "Ebby" Freeman's name — and face — have been synonymous with tragedy.
Just 10 years old on the day her brother died, Ebby's life has been plagued by nightmares and haunted by questions. What really happened on the day her brother was left to die in the study, a priceless family heirloom in pieces beside him?
The unsolved crime has remained in the nation's memory too, Ebby forever remembered as the young Black girl who survived a violent home invasion. A photojournalist's award-winning photo of her covered in her brother's blood and wrapped in the protective arms of a neighbor has been the perfect form of trauma porn for a nation obsessed with true crime.
So when Henry Pepper, fiance to now-29-year-old Ebby and son of another prestigious New England family, is a no-show at the couple's wedding in the Freeman's back yard, her latest trauma quickly becomes fodder for the gossip rags.
Eager to escape their crosshairs, Ebby flees for the French countryside, to a small cottage owned by a colleague.
It's there that she begins to write down the story of the Freeman family and of "Old Mo," the heirloom destroyed during Baz' murder. An earthenware jug hand thrown more than a century before by an enslaved man named Moses, "Old Mo" was carried to New England by Moses' brother-in-law, Willis (Ebby’s great-great-great-grandfather), as he escaped enslavement.
Hidden at the base of "Old Mo" is a message enscribed by Moses that's shaped the trajectory of the Freeman family, and it may just shape Ebby's too.
The Verdict
It took a few chapters of this pick from the February 2025 BOTM Club list to realize why the story of Good Dirt seemed so familiar. A few years ago, The New York Times profiled the artistic works of David Drake or "Dave the Potter," whose stoneware was becoming a hot commodity in the art world. Drake created his works while living in enslavement in South Carolina, inscribing them with words of resistance at a time when anti-literacy laws were being used to further trap enslaved people.
Drake was, of course, not the only potter trapped in enslavement at the time, and Charmaine Wilkerson deftly brings the stories of these people to life in Good Dirt. Like her first book, Black Cake, the book takes us on a journey back and forth through time, teasing out the long-lasting impacts of inter-generational trauma.
She could have quite easily written a compelling narrative focused solely on enslaved potters, but Wilkerson's decision to carry us through the story of a family from the early 1800s to now provides a much-needed depth to their story.
Just as main character Ebby Freeman is not just the little Black girl who survived a home invasion, the potters in this story are not just enslaved people whose trauma we witness. They are the forebears of generations, each with their own addition to the story.
Value — Was This Box Worth It?
Was this BOTM Club book worth the subscription? From a compelling read perspective, I'm going to say absolutely. If you're talking purely from a numbers perspective, you'll also get a yes!
The BOTM Club starts at $17.99, depending on your chosen subscription. Typically BOTM Club has the advantage with its hardcover prices, and for this February pick you'll save $3, even over Amazon's deep discount on the $30 hardcover. If you're new to membership, it's also a big financial win — the first month of a subscription is currently $9.99.
The Cost: $9.99 (This price is only for your first month).
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To Wrap Up:
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