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norcalchris's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
There was so much to unpack in this story. It was about a lot more than the blurb advertises.
Ultimately, I was left wanting deeper excavation of many of the topics presented and characters. It felt strangely devoid of emotion.
Not sure it would come to mind to recommend to others.
Ultimately, I was left wanting deeper excavation of many of the topics presented and characters. It felt strangely devoid of emotion.
Not sure it would come to mind to recommend to others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Medical content and Dementia
dramagirl2003's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this was a very enlightening read with a lot of interesting characters and perspectives. this book is entirely third-person which i don’t often enjoy quite so much, but the author used it very well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Abandonment, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Dementia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual content
i count “sexual content” as consensual acts, so that’s why i tag it as minordqueen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I’ve put off reading this book for a long time and I regret not picking it up sooner. The story was so magnetizing I couldn’t put it down, I had to continue turned the pages to see what would happen next.
I love the intricacies of the multi generational family and how brilliantly their stories were laid out, explored and overlapped one another.
The exploration of girlhood through to womanhood was done well, along with the mother, daughter and sister relationships. The commentary on race was jarring to my sheltered Australian life, however I recognize that is a reality for many.
My only criticism is that I felt it ended abruptly, but perhaps that was just me yearning for more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
minimicropup's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Enduring, diligent, confident
We follow twin siblings from their childhood through to their teens, where they eventually go their separate ways and live with different racial identities. We later follow their children, unaware of much of the family history as they navigate early adulthood.
🇺🇸 Set in small town Louisiana; Los Angeles, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Washington D.C. from the 1940s to the 1980s.
🎙️ Love the narration. Felt like I was watching a movie, it was easy to stay engaged and differentiate the characters. The narration is also expressive and emotive - one of the few audiobooks I didn't need to adjust the speed on for it to sound more natural.
🐺🐕 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
🥹 The writing style is so immersive and empathetic, and I was hooked into the story early on. The twins each have different personalities and are well developed as we follow them over the decades.
👌 The timeline jumping for the first 75% or so of the novel worked well to set the scene and provide context. It is very show, not tell, even when in-real-life horrors are unfolding.
🤔 However, the last 25% was harder to follow. I sometimes got confused about what timeline we were in for the later chapters and I felt like the character development for Kennedy and Jude was lacking a bit. It almost felt like the kids we followed earlier were not the adults we follow now. It just didn't relate back to the past if that makes sense? It felt more like we were being reminded of what happened in their childhoods instead of seeing how those events impacted them now.
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Historical fiction with small town 1950s vibes up to gritty 1980s city life
- Multigenerational story showing the impact of each generation on the next ones
- Character studies exploring privilege, bias (conscious and unconscious), race, prejudice, presumptions, and identity
Content Heads-Up: Racism (slurs, character opinions, themes, prejudice, persecution). Physical abuse (relationship). Transgender rep (good to excellent?). Death of a parent. Dementia.
Format: Library Audio via Libby
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Bullying, Dementia, Hate crime, and Transphobia
beeasinbumble's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Death of parent, Racism, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Addiction, Medical content, and Dysphoria
lemonflower's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Death, and Racism
annatan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual harassment
starlight_1313's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Dementia, Sexual content, and Death of parent
elanilanella's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Classism, Bullying, Rape, Gaslighting, Addiction, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
kenzieburns's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I might return to this one to read again, and to re-evaluate my rating. So much to think about. The character development was amazing, nothing short of spectacular. I often find it so hard to follow and stay engaged with novels that span generations, because I get too attached to one character/generation's story arc, and then end up skimming the sections not relevant to that character/arc. This book was NOT that. By the time we got to Stella's perspective and the focus on her life, I was itching to learn more about what motivated her to up and leave, especially after Desiree was the one who originally motivated her to leave.
This book really challenged my perceptions of race in the US, especially in recent history. I wasn't "shocked" by the segregation that pervaded into the later portions of the novel, but I did have to keep reminding myself that it was set in the 80s at that point, and even earlier in the book it was only the late 50s/early 60s. That's like, when my mom was born. It also gave me pause to consider that, yes, we're 40 years down the line from the 80s, but how much has changed? I was particularly struck by the introduction of Stella's portion of the story when the main plot point is that the neighborhood association is scandalized by a Black family moving in, and people were saying how it would "drop property value" and they "wouldn't be wanted, so why would they move in anyways?". I just know that there are still neighborhood association meetings today that play out following the exact same script.
I'm particularly moved by Stella's chosen life in passing. I think I expected so much more fear to bleed through in her part of the story, but was equally moved by how nonchalantly it seemed to be discussed. Like, don't get me wrong, I definitely felt some fear in her perspective, but the fear was less of the "I'll be found out and killed" that I expected and more of a "everything I've built and worked hard for, even though no one knows I've worked hard for it, will be destroyed". I'm not sure why, but this difference in the perceived motivation of the fear made it all the more striking to read for me. I also think the author did an amazing job of writing Kennedy's perspective. I felt bad for her, for so many reasons (not knowing half of her identity, being lied to all her life, and having to lie for the rest of it as well...), but I also felt jealous of her/mad at her on behalf of Jude, who didn't seem to feel either of those emotions toward her cousin. It's really interesting to me that, as a White reader, I was feeling these negative emotions towards the perceived White character in the book, even though the Black character didn't display these emotions; so, these emotions were coming entirely from within myself, which leads me to believe they come from my own internal biases. Definitely something to make a personal note of and evaluate, but also writing it here to hold myself accountable.
My one gripe is that I wish there was more resolution to the Stella/Kennedy storyline. I felt like this was left very much an unknown, and would have loved to see even a tiny bit of Kennedy's coming to terms with her mother's (and her own) background. But, maybe this is my Whiteness wanting more resolution to the perceived White storyline, and maybe that's the whole point of leaving this storyline up in the air; that's not what the author wanted to focus on. All in all, a great novel that really challenged my thinking.
This book really challenged my perceptions of race in the US, especially in recent history. I wasn't "shocked" by the segregation that pervaded into the later portions of the novel, but I did have to keep reminding myself that it was set in the 80s at that point, and even earlier in the book it was only the late 50s/early 60s. That's like, when my mom was born. It also gave me pause to consider that, yes, we're 40 years down the line from the 80s, but how much has changed? I was particularly struck by the introduction of Stella's portion of the story when the main plot point is that the neighborhood association is scandalized by a Black family moving in, and people were saying how it would "drop property value" and they "wouldn't be wanted, so why would they move in anyways?". I just know that there are still neighborhood association meetings today that play out following the exact same script.
I'm particularly moved by Stella's chosen life in passing. I think I expected so much more fear to bleed through in her part of the story, but was equally moved by how nonchalantly it seemed to be discussed. Like, don't get me wrong, I definitely felt some fear in her perspective, but the fear was less of the "I'll be found out and killed" that I expected and more of a "everything I've built and worked hard for, even though no one knows I've worked hard for it, will be destroyed". I'm not sure why, but this difference in the perceived motivation of the fear made it all the more striking to read for me. I also think the author did an amazing job of writing Kennedy's perspective. I felt bad for her, for so many reasons (not knowing half of her identity, being lied to all her life, and having to lie for the rest of it as well...), but I also felt jealous of her/mad at her on behalf of Jude, who didn't seem to feel either of those emotions toward her cousin. It's really interesting to me that, as a White reader, I was feeling these negative emotions towards the perceived White character in the book, even though the Black character didn't display these emotions; so, these emotions were coming entirely from within myself, which leads me to believe they come from my own internal biases. Definitely something to make a personal note of and evaluate, but also writing it here to hold myself accountable.
My one gripe is that I wish there was more resolution to the Stella/Kennedy storyline. I felt like this was left very much an unknown, and would have loved to see even a tiny bit of Kennedy's coming to terms with her mother's (and her own) background. But, maybe this is my Whiteness wanting more resolution to the perceived White storyline, and maybe that's the whole point of leaving this storyline up in the air; that's not what the author wanted to focus on. All in all, a great novel that really challenged my thinking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Dysphoria, and Dementia