Well-written with fully fleshed-out characters, but it just didn't grip me as much as some historical fictional novels with similar themes. ( )

Lots of characters, enjoyed it, wish the ending wrapped up more felt abrupt ( )

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton has written a warm, bittersweet story of music, family, and resistance. In an homage to "Fiddler on the Roof," Ms. Wilkerson Sexton has placed her characters and plot in post-WWII San Francisco’s Fillmore District, where each family member’s story unfolds against the threat of forced eviction of the entire neighborhood through the city’s assertion of their right of eminent domain.

Vivian, a Louisiana native, is a widow and mother to Ruth, Esther, and Chloe, all in their twenties. While Vivian’s dream for her daughters is fame, fortune, and most importantly, safety, as a girl group, she soon learns that each of her girls is be called to express her own song. Set against the looming threat of redevelopment, these dramas play out quietly – but the love among family, friends, and neighbors is anything but quiet; it’s exuberant, like the music and the prose, which sings.

You won’t regret the time spent reading this rich piece of historical fiction. Consider educating yourself about the history of the Fillmore District, including the effect of “redevelopment” on the African Americans who were displaced, before reading the book for an informed reading experience; this reviewer found first-hand accounts on www.foundsf.org, a digital archive of material about San Francisco’s history.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC I used to write this honest review. ( )

Set in the 1950s in San Francisco, widow Vivian has great plans for her three singing daughters. They initially form a jazz group called The Salvations. The daughters, however, have other ideas. This book explores gentrification, ambition, grief, love, and miscommunications. Sexton excels at portraying the way different generational viewpoints. This is set during a time of great difficulties for black families. The main source of conflict is the removal of families from their homes to enable new construction. The (real) club The Fillmore plays a key role in the plot. The writing is solid, characters are well developed. It is not an action-based story but kept my attention from beginning to end. ( )

This is a heartwarming novel of the Black Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco as it once was before it was ripped apart by white developers in the 1950s. The author credits Fiddler on the Roof, with its three sisters and strong mom, as source inspiration, but I also saw the Oakland-bred Pointer Sisters in it. Mom, the widowed Vivian, has imparted her burning ambition to daughters Ruth, Esther, and Chloe, and she demands that they practice their harmonies every night on their rooftop. They're the pride of the close-knit block, but each girl has her own dreams to fulfill and they need to rise above their stumbles along the way. Vivian herself is staving off her strong attraction to Preacher, a widower who has been patiently waiting for her to accomplish her mission of getting the girls a contract to sing in LA nightclubs. There’s a wealth of minor characters to add charm to the story, which could almost be a companion, from the female gaze, to Walter Mosely’s Easy Rawlins LA novels, which begin in the same era. What an accomplished, evocative, and memorable period story. ( )

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton is a highly recommended historical fiction novel set in the 1950s.

In 1953 the changing Black San Francisco neighborhood, Vivian's three daughters, Ruth, Esther, and Chloe have been singing and dancing in harmony since they could speak. Vivian's husband has passed away, and she dreams of her three girls reaching stardom. On stage, the three girls are known as The Salvations. Now in their 20's, they are becoming well known, especially due to their weekly appearances at the Champagne Supper Club, and a talent manager has contacted Vivian hoping to help them reach the pinnacle of success. However, things are changing, both in the lives of the girls and the neighborhood.

The writing is a descriptive delight in this novel and it depicts both the good and the bad of the many events the family goes through. Chapters are from the point of view of Vivian, Ruth, Esther, or Chloe. Readers can follow Vivian's dreams for her girls and the plans the girls have for their own lives. Also detailed are the changes occurring in the neighborhood. Complex relationships reign in this novel, and they are what makes the narrative interesting, with the relationship between the mother and her daughters a main depiction.

The descriptions of the mother and sisters are all clearly delineated and each character represents an individual with dreams of her own. The experiences of the sisters are removed from those pf the mother, yet the mother's experiences ultimately effect the daughters too, although with a modicum of restraint.

Normally historical fiction isn't a choice of mine, but this novel represents an excellent choice for anyone who understands the dreams a mother may have for her children and then the alternate paths the children take. On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton was inspired by Fiddler on the Roof, and that comparison is apropos.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/09/on-rooftop.html ( )