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steph_foster's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Very slow burn. Well written but I feel there were a couple too many characters introduced.
linnea1m's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
50bookgoal's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
issywelsby's review against another edition
3.5
The first third was great but it really fell off for me after that. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and found the time jumps very jarring
suckermtn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
annagrace357's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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
4.75
danilanglie's review
2.0
Gosh, I feel really bad, but I just did not connect with this book very much. The writing was gorgeous, it had a very lush, rich texture to it almost, and I liked the way the POVs dipped into the heads of the different characters as the story progressed.
But... those characters, this story, it just felt all very academic and distant to me, in a strange way? I feel like when people who don't like literary fiction imagine what the genre is like, this book is exactly it: a pretty bleak story about inter-generational trauma and suffering, with a slow-moving plot.
I think the biggest disappointment for me in this book is that up until like the halfway mark, I thought this book was going to be about grandmother, mother, and son all coming together. I thought the book would be about Bonaparte. Those were the most interesting sections to me, and I kept waiting for Ava and Toussaint to finally go there and reunite with Dutchess. And that is a promise that the book never fulfills. Instead it just keeps building and building up to a tension point that doesn't really have catharsis, I guess.
So yeah. I can't deny that this book has a lot of gorgeous individual elements in it, but for me, it just didn't really hit the spot.
But... those characters, this story, it just felt all very academic and distant to me, in a strange way? I feel like when people who don't like literary fiction imagine what the genre is like, this book is exactly it: a pretty bleak story about inter-generational trauma and suffering, with a slow-moving plot.
I think the biggest disappointment for me in this book is that up until like the halfway mark, I thought this book was going to be about grandmother, mother, and son all coming together. I thought the book would be about Bonaparte. Those were the most interesting sections to me, and I kept waiting for Ava and Toussaint to finally go there and reunite with Dutchess. And that is a promise that the book never fulfills. Instead it just keeps building and building up to a tension point that doesn't really have catharsis, I guess.
So yeah. I can't deny that this book has a lot of gorgeous individual elements in it, but for me, it just didn't really hit the spot.
melissa_cosgrove's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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: Child abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review
4.0
Everyone in this novel is unsettled. Even in the tiny hamlet of Bonaparte, Alabama, Dutchess sees the world she has loved threatened by new housing developments and old friends leaving to enjoy their senior years elsewhere. In Philadelphia, her daughter Ava has taken her son and left the most stable home either of them have ever known for a homeless shelter. Cass seeks to create a utopia but builds a shaky cult in a struggling neighborhood.
Ayana Mathis uses the 1985 MOVE bombing as the crux of her story. The characters are complex and not entirely likable but it is hard not to become entangled in their story. You will feel a lot in this novel, mostly anger at the racism, misogyny, hopelessness, deception, and more. Mathis has a literary style that is accessible and sweeping. The story will keep you engaged.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the DRC. This is my honest review.
Ayana Mathis uses the 1985 MOVE bombing as the crux of her story. The characters are complex and not entirely likable but it is hard not to become entangled in their story. You will feel a lot in this novel, mostly anger at the racism, misogyny, hopelessness, deception, and more. Mathis has a literary style that is accessible and sweeping. The story will keep you engaged.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the DRC. This is my honest review.