The Book Of Lost Sould

 In this delightful historical fiction story we switch the story between 1875 and 1988. Lisa Wingate is the author of The Book of Lost Souls. In 1875 little Hannie watched from the plantation in Mississippi as her mother and siblings are sold away. Lavinia Gossett is the daughter of the plantation owner. Juneau Jane is the plantation owner's daughter with a Creole woman in New Orleans. Together the three girls take off looking for the plantation owner in Texas. While recovering from illness they hide out in a church for a week. On the walls of the church are newspaper articles of former slaves looking for their relatives. Juneau Jane knows how to read and write so she starts collecting information from other people missing relatives and writes the book of lost soles. Juneau Jane teaches Hannie how to read and write. On the other end of the timeline first year teacher Benny Silva comes to Livingston, Alabama. She needs to work off her student loans. The school is shockingly empty of books and teaching materials. She finds a huge library of books in an empty farmhouse behind the one she is renting. She gets permission from the owner to bring the books to school. With her students they begin to do research on the people who lived in this area. Eventually they come to find out that this is where Hannie, Lavinia, and Juneau Jane once lived.