A review by herkeyfanatic
Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This book sounded full of potential, a historical fiction set against the life of a White passing Black girl through the times of segregation through the Civil Rights Era, and beyond in the Deep South and West Coast upper crust. Unfortunately, this miss the mark in execution. For dealing with a very heavy topic the story came across clunky and low stakes. The main issue was the structuring and pacing of the story. The novel covers several decades of the main characters' lives, yet critical events in history that would have a profound impact on Blacks at the time were only mentioned in passing. Additionally, the amount of time spent of different eras and the transitions felt rushed or unnecessary. It made it hard to connect with the characters. The long lost love angle felt undeveloped and forced, which disconnected the reader from the character even more. The only real action took place in the final few pages, and had one too many convenient discovers to build up any true stakes. Due to the opportunities listed above, this one is a pass for me.