An important read in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and Black History Month, now is the time to order The Sea of Dead Souls, a novella by Nina Louise. Read an excerpt of the novella here, and find a summary of the novella below:

Naomi Gatson has lived her entire life in Shreveport, Louisiana. Her pa and ma had only one wish for her, and her three brothers: to flee the south for the north. It's the spring of 1941, and Ma has died. The Gatsons plan their family escape almost immediately. But the dead who have tried to flee keep popping up around Naomi, complicating the Gatsons' journey. The Sheriff's obsession with Ma and, later, with Naomi, has only made their plan more dangerous. As Pa's health declines, the brothers become the target of the Sheriff's violence. Once the brothers get word that they are being drafted to the Army, the Gatson’s know it is now or never. An intelligent woman of twenty-six years, Naomi is the one who must devise the family's departure. Will the Gatsons evade the sheriff's clutches? Will they arrive safely in the north? This is the tale of their passage towards freedom.