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Laila Ibrahim displays in her fifth novel the same talent for telling a good story with moving characters that she showed in her earlier works. Golden Poppies is a sequel to Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed, extending the stories of Mattie and Lisbeth and their descendants. It is the 1890s and they have all moved to Oakland, California, a very different setting from Virginia and Ohio where they lived earlier. The linked but contrasting fortunes of the Black and white characters are shown with great sensitivity. The characters� private lives (birth, death and marriage) are movingly portrayed, always with an awareness of the historical context. Issues such as the dangers of passing for white, the different impact of labor unions on blacks and whites, the subtle and blatant insults faced by Blacks, and the complexity of Black women’s involvement in the women’s suffrage movement are all dealt with in ways that will surprise many readers. Both teenagers and adults will enjoy this book.