The Blackwoods

Written by Brandy Colbert

Narrated by Alaska Jackson

From Boston Globe/Horn Book Award–winning author Brandy Colbert comes the story of four generations of a Hollywood family—an unforgettable tale of ambition, fame, struggle, loss, and love in America.

The Blackwoods. Everyone knows their name.

Blossom Blackwood burst onto the silver screen in 1962, and in the decades that followed, she would become one of the most celebrated actors of our time—and the matriarch of the most famous Black family in Hollywood. To her great-granddaughters, Hollis and Ardith, she has always just been Bebe. And when she passes away, it changes everything.

Hollis Blackwood was never interested in fame. Still, she’s surrounded by it, whether at home with her family or at the prestigious Dupree Academy among Los Angeles’ elite. When private photos of Hollis are leaked in the wake of Blossom’s death, she is thrust into the spotlight she’s long avoided—and finds that trust may be a luxury even she can’t afford.

Ardith Blackwood has always lived in the public eye. A television star since childhood, she was perhaps closer with Blossom than anyone—especially after Ardith’s mother died in a drug overdose. Ever since, she has worked to be everything her family, her church, and the public want her to be. But as a family secret comes to light and the pressures from all sides begin to mount, she wonders what is left beneath the face she shows the world.

Weaving together the narratives of Hollis, Ardith, and Blossom, award-winning author Brandy Colbert tells an unforgettable story set in an America where everything is personal, and nothing is private.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9780063091627

Brandy Colbert

Brandy Colbert is the award-winning author of several books for children and teens, including Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which was the winner of the 2022 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and a finalist for the American Library Association's Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award. Her other acclaimed books include Pointe, The Voting Booth, The Only Black Girls in Town, and the Stonewall Book Award winner Little & Lion. A member of the faculty at Hamline University's MFA program in writing for children, Brandy lives in Los Angeles. You can find her online at brandycolbert.com.

Reviews for The Blackwoods

[Kanese Nicole Rachel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a nice book to read. I could see it's eventually turned into a movie. It started off kind of slow. The storyline moved back and forth between three generations of Blackwood women, Flossie, Blossom, and the younger generation, Ardith and Hollis. Each generation was more successful in Hollywood than the previous. The storyline also included a family secret. However, it wasn't anything that was earth-shattering. Without giving too many details, I agree with the decisions that Blossom made to enhance her opportunity to make it in Black Hollywood. I also enjoyed that the storyline touched on the adversity that African American actors had to overcome when trying to find roles in Black Hollywood.

[Becca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Slow going at first but I really liked this. I could see this as a movie. 4.5 stars.