The Blackwoods

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.

As the Blackwood women grapple with their new reality, what will they discover about their family, their legacy, and themselves?

• Family Secrets: The death of a matriarch unearths a secret nearly seventy years in the making—one that could redefine the entire Blackwood legacy.
• Multiple POV: Experience the glitz and the grief through the eyes of three unforgettable women: Hollis, the reluctant heiress; Ardith, the seasoned child star; and Blossom, the original icon.
• Coming of Age Story: Two cousins, Hollis and Ardith, must navigate the treacherous waters of fame, trust, and first love while the world watches their every move.
• Black Hollywood History: Travel back to the golden and not-so-golden age of Hollywood as Blossom Blackwood’s story unfolds, revealing the ambition and sacrifice required to build a dynasty.