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A review by ivanainthecity
Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie
5.0
This is a book that’ll hug your heart—one that centers on Skye, a financially successful but scrooge-like queer Black woman who donates an egg to a friend for a quick thousand bucks and basically doesn’t think much about it... until over a decade later, when her cutie 12-year-old biological daughter finds her.
I’ve been in a funk and feeling scrooge-like myself, and this book got me out of my head. I loved so much about it, including how (in random order):
💚 the story focuses on fully fleshed out cis and trans, multigenerational women characters who are all special in their own ways—especially Skye herself, Vicky, Faye, Reverend Seymour, and Viva. Yes, I said ~especially~ and then proceeded to list most of the women characters but I can’t choose just one. I loved how the youngest, Vicky, had strong convictions and knew her rights and history. I’m a broken record but I’m a firm believer in Gen Z saving the world.
💚 LOL-funny Skye and the people around her are. I lost count of how many times I chuckled throughout the book.
💚 the book is hilarious and centers on joy, but it also highlights the beauty of West Philly and the importance of community, especially when that community is continuously threatened by police brutality and gentrification.
💚 one of the themes is our shitty memories/nostalgia and how fickle and selective our memories can be, which is why it’s important to constantly reflect—and I needed to hear that.
💚 obviously romance isn’t the focus of the storyline, but there were some swoon-y bits on there!
💚 it normalizes speaking Spanglish con tus amistades. I loved how Viva and Skye constantly did this, and how freaking accurate Viva’s Puerto Rican slang was (hasta decía ~full~ y ~equelecuá~).... also I would 100000% stay at Viva’s Black and Puerto Rican women-themed b&b, La Narradora. She even has a Julia de Burgos themed room.
I’ve been in a funk and feeling scrooge-like myself, and this book got me out of my head. I loved so much about it, including how (in random order):
💚 the story focuses on fully fleshed out cis and trans, multigenerational women characters who are all special in their own ways—especially Skye herself, Vicky, Faye, Reverend Seymour, and Viva. Yes, I said ~especially~ and then proceeded to list most of the women characters but I can’t choose just one. I loved how the youngest, Vicky, had strong convictions and knew her rights and history. I’m a broken record but I’m a firm believer in Gen Z saving the world.
💚 LOL-funny Skye and the people around her are. I lost count of how many times I chuckled throughout the book.
💚 the book is hilarious and centers on joy, but it also highlights the beauty of West Philly and the importance of community, especially when that community is continuously threatened by police brutality and gentrification.
💚 one of the themes is our shitty memories/nostalgia and how fickle and selective our memories can be, which is why it’s important to constantly reflect—and I needed to hear that.
💚 obviously romance isn’t the focus of the storyline, but there were some swoon-y bits on there!
💚 it normalizes speaking Spanglish con tus amistades. I loved how Viva and Skye constantly did this, and how freaking accurate Viva’s Puerto Rican slang was (hasta decía ~full~ y ~equelecuá~).... also I would 100000% stay at Viva’s Black and Puerto Rican women-themed b&b, La Narradora. She even has a Julia de Burgos themed room.