All creatures seek to improve their circumstances by any means possible. During the slave era, lighter skin tones offered some women of color the opportunity to improve their circumstances, to ensure a better future for their children; that, in brief, is what the Quadroon Balls in 18th Century New Orleans were about. The first half of Hawkins’ “Quadroon Balls with Bright Moments” explores the details of how several women manipulated the racist system as much to their advantage as possible. “Bright Moments’ is an attached series of short stories that use race, racial constructs as the basis for being. The stories offer us a serpentine reading experience, that take us from the yard of a maximum-security prison, to Alicante, Spain, straight into the early days of a high school student using his writing talent to write Love Letters for his classmates, for a price. Woven throughout “Quadroon Balls with Bright Moments” are the constant reminders that Hope, Love and Success will surface, no matter how great the challenges are.