Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings
Dionna L. Mann
Margaret Ferguson Books
Published August 6, 2024
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings
Growing up in segregated 1930’s Charlottesville, ten-year-old Allie is determined to find a man for her mama to marry— but not just any man will do!
Allie’s life with Mama isn’t bad, but she knows it could be better if Mama would find someone to marry. Allie’s worst enemy, her NOT-friend Gwen, has a daddy, and Allie wants someone like that—someone to fix things when they break, someone who likes to sing, and has a kind-smile.
So Allie makes a plan—her super secret Man-For-Mama plan. She has a list of candidates with a clear top Mr. Johnson, who owns the antique store. Best of all, Mr. Johnson went to school with Mama, and he wants to get reacquainted! The battle’s half won, and Allie is sure that when he tries Mama’s yummy chicken and dumplings, he’ll be head over heels.
But someone else is interested in Mr. Coles, Allie’s teacher, who’s also Gwen’s uncle! Mama can’t marry him—no way is Allie going to be related to Gwen. On top of it all, Allie’s best friend is moving to Chicago; Allie keeps getting in trouble; and everyone seems to think she’s jealous of Gwen, for some reason. Nothing is going how she planned, but Allie is determined to get things back on track toward the life she knows she and Mama both deserve. . . even if Mama doesn’t agree yet.
My Review
Earlier this year, I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and it made me realize how little literature I’ve read set before the Civil Rights Act written by Black authors. It seems wild to me now that I’ve noticed it. When I saw this novel, I decided reading it would be a great opportunity to add some more perspective.
I love Allie’s voice. She’s precocious and smart. Her friendship with Jewel is incredibly sweet. The girls support one another and share such a close bond. It was easy to empathize with Allie’s grief when Jewel moves away.
I think the story also has great layering in terms of showing the difference between Allie’s perspective on what’s happening and making the larger picture, or what the adults see going on, available to readers to pick up between the lines. Some of those moments made me laugh. A few were pretty poignant.
One of the things I enjoyed a lot is that Allie is a musician who plays the flute. She also often describes her experiences in terms of sounds, so the story contains a lot of onomatopoeia. The sounds were well-described, so I knew exactly what the descriptions meant. I thought that was a cool way to showcase Allie’s connection to sound as a musician and add a fun element to the story.
All in all, this is a delightful debut. I am really excited to see what Dionna Mann writes in the future. I have a feeling I’ll be picking up any subsequent novels she writes as well as recommending this one.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation
Major characters are Black.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
Allie is trying to start a romance between her mom and a local businessman.
Spiritual Content
References to attending church. A couple of scenes take place after the service.
Violent Content
Two girls get into a fistfight after one swipes a toy belonging to the other.
Drug Content
None.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday
I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.
This one’s going on my TBR pile, for sure. I love Maya Anjelou, and civil rights era historical fiction. (Mildred D. Taylor is one of my faves.)
I’m guessing that Allie learns there is more to Gwen than she is willing to admit, but I love a good hate on in a story.
Yes! Taylor is on my list to reread/read more of. I remember reading Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry when I was in elementary school. And yes, she does learn more about Gwen in ways that change how she thinks, but it takes a lot! 🙂 I loved that part of the story, too.
I loved what you said about Maya Angelou. FYI, I have newly published MG novel, Me and the Missouri Moon (Monarch Press) where Ms. Angelou’s personality and words “dance” through the plot. I would hope you’d approve!
Thanks! I saw your email about your book. I will get to it as soon as I can. It’s a holiday week/weekend in my family, so fitting in blog things this week has been challenging. 😀
This sounds a sweet story, set in an interesting historical period. I love the musician angle, and it’s always great when the reader can see more than the protagonist! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks, Valinora! I hope you had a great week. 🙂
I love the idea of Allie playing matchmaker for her mom. It is a great set-up for a story. The book sounds really charming, and I’m putting it on my TBR list. Thanks for telling me about it.
Yes! I thought it was really cute, and it had some layering to it that I liked a lot. I hope you get to read and enjoy it. Thanks, Rosi!
I haven’t read this one- but it sounds great. I love HF and I am adding this one to my list. Thanks for sharing your review!
Yay! I’m glad it sounds like a good fit for you. I hope you enjoy it when you get a chance to read it. 🙂
This book sounds immensely sweet, Kasey! I love what you wrote about the difference between Allie’s perspective and the adults’ perspective, and how that difference could be alternately amusing and painful. I feel like we underestimate how much kids understand and think about, and it sounds like Allie may not know exactly what the adults around her are thinking, but she knows that something is missing in her life and that she wants to do something to find it. She sounds like a character young readers (and young readers at heart, i.e. everyone!) will relate to. Thank you so much for the thoughtful review, as always, and enjoy your week!
Thank you, Max. 🙂 I hope you have a great week, too.
I enjoyed this one, too! The main character really carried the story well. A wonderful debut for this author. Thanks for giving it some more love on MMGM this week.
Yes! Sure thing. Happy MMGM! 😀
This sounds interesting.
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to check it out.
I love the premise of this story and the historical setting. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much. I just reserved it at my library.
Yay! I hope you get to read it soon. Thanks, Natalie. 🙂