Unspoken by Jann Alexander Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: July 3, 2025
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Series: The Dust Series
Pages: 368
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Trailer: Here

Book Description

A farm devastated. A dream destroyed. A family scattered. And one Texas girl determined to salvage the wreckage.

Ruby Lee Becker can't breathe. It's 1935 in the heart of the Dust Bowl, and the Becker family has clung to its Texas Panhandle farm through six years of drought, dying crops, and dust storms. On Black Sunday, the biggest blackest storm of them all threatens ten-year-old Ruby with deadly dust pneumonia and requires a drastic choice—one her mother, Willa Mae, will forever regret.

To survive, Ruby is forced to leave the only place she's ever known. Far from home in Waco, and worried her mother has abandoned her, she's determined to get back.

Even after twelve years, Willa Mae still clings to memories of her daughter. Unable to reunite with Ruby, she's broken by their separation.

Through rollicking adventures and harrowing setbacks, the tenacious Ruby Lee embarks on her perilous quest for home —and faces her one unspoken fear.

Heart-wrenching and inspiring, the tale of Ruby Lee's dogged perseverance and Willa Mae's endless love for her daughter shines a light on women driven apart by disaster who bravely lean on one another, find comfort in remade families, and redefine what home means.

My Thoughts

Ten-year-old Ruby Lee Becker contracts dust pneumonia and, against the wishes of her mother Willa Mae, is sent to stay with an aunt in Waco, Texas; away from the drought and dust storms of the Texas Panhandle. However, Ruby Lee sees this as a punishment and doesn't understand why her mother has abandoned her. Unbeknown to Ruby Lee, Willa Mae has suffered a nervous breakdown and has been placed in an asylum. Ruby Lee's life is once again thrown into turmoil when she becomes a ward of the state. Now, both mother and daughter are institutionlized and unaware of each other's situation.

We follow Ruby Lee through the years in the state orphanage: the friends and enemies she makes and the risks she takes to escape the orphanage, forever wondering what has become of her family. Meanwhile, Willa Mae, an artist, commits her memories to paper before the horrendous medical treatment she undergoes eradicates them completely. She sketches and writes letters to Ruby Lee that are never sent.

This is a heartbreaking story of fractured lives and families due to the decimation of the Texas Panhandle by the weather and agricultural practices of the time, the great depression and World War 2. But through it all, Ruby Lee, inspired by her heroine Amelia Earhart and the wise words of Eleanor Roosevelt, never relinquishes her dream of returning to her home and reuniting her family.

Unspoken is a great introduction to a new series. I enjoyed the historical setting and the wonderful characters, but most of all I enjoyed meeting Ruby Lee, who is destined to become another literary heroine.

Where to Purchase

Universal Buy Link : Book Funnel Link : Author’s Website

Meet the Author

Jann Alexander writes characters who face down their fears. Her novels are as close-to-true as fiction can get.

Jann is the author of the historical novel, UNSPOKEN, set in the Texas Panhandle during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression eras, and her first book in The Dust Series.

Jann writes on all things creative in her weekly blog, Pairings. She's a 20-year resident of central Texas and creator of the Vanishing Austin photography series. As a former art director for ad agencies and magazines in the D.C. area, and a painter, photographer, and art gallery owner, creativity is her practice and passion.

Jann's  lifelong storytelling habit and her more recent zeal for Texas history merged to become the historical Dust Series. When she is not reading, writing, or creating, she bikes, hikes, skis, and kayaks. She lives in central Texas with her own personal Texan (and biggest fan), Karl, and their Texas mutt, Ruby.

Jann always brakes for historical markers.

Connect with Jann:
Website : Facebook : Instagram : Bluesky : Pinterest : Book Bub : Book Bub for Unspoken : Amazon Author Page : Goodreads : Goodreads for Unspoken

Tour Schedule

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