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Camilla's Roses by Bernice L. McFadden
5.0
emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Rereleased June 10th, 2025

Camilla’s Roses was my first time reading Bernice L. McFadden, and what a powerful, unforgettable introduction. This novel moved me deeply—both as a reader and someone who has personally felt the weight of breast cancer-related loss. It’s a story that speaks to pain, identity, and survival with tenderness and truth.

The story follows Camilla in two timelines: her present-day life is shaken by the discovery of a lump in her breast, while memories from her past slowly unfold, revealing the reasons she’s distanced herself from her family for years. As the story progresses, these two timelines begin to converge, bringing Camilla face-to-face with the truth she’s long tried to bury and the future she can no longer avoid.

Camilla shares a middle name—Rose—with the women in her maternal line, a tradition rooted in a unique rosebush that only thrives on her great-great-grandmother’s land in Southern Georgia. That rose, clipped and replanted many times without success, becomes a powerful symbol of the generational strength and rootedness of the women in this family.

Camilla’s past is filled with emotional turmoil: raised by her grandmother and great-aunt while her parents battled heroin addiction, she grew up surrounded by instability, heartbreak, and silence. Her longing to escape led to years of self-denial, from bleaching her skin to lying about her background—both to others and herself. McFadden explores these struggles with incredible sensitivity and depth.

Themes like breast cancer, addiction, abandonment, colorism, and generational trauma are present throughout the novel, but never feel heavy for the sake of it. McFadden writes with compassion and nuance, letting the emotional weight of each moment breathe. Every character is richly drawn and essential to the story’s emotional impact.

Though this book delves into darkness, there is light, too. The women in this story—Camilla and her “Roses”—are resilient. Their strength may not always be loud, but it’s undeniable. Like that rosebush, they survive where they’re rooted. There is pain here, yes, but also quiet hope, healing, and a sense that even fractured things can bloom again.

I’m so grateful for the chance to read this early and look forward to exploring more of Bernice L. McFadden’s work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.