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A review by book_concierge
The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
3.0
Book on CD narrated by Shayna Small
3***
Ruth Tuttle is a chemical engineer married to a marketing executive and living the good life in Chicago. Obama has just been elected President and Ruth’s husband feels the time is right for them to start a family. But Ruth isn’t so sure. What Xavier doesn’t know is that she had a child when she was in high school and gave up that child so she could continue her education. Now she feels she needs to go back to Ganton, Indiana and confront her family about what happened to her baby.
There’s a good premise here and some interesting family dynamics, but I thought Johnson relied too much on the secrets and failed to make sense of the present. Ruth is supposed to be this brilliant scientist and yet she behaves just as impulsively as Midnight, the young white boy she befriends. I get that this is an emotionally fraught situation, but she doesn’t seem to ever sit and think things through before acting.
And I was really bothered by the situation with Midnight, a child who desperately needs parenting. I can understand why he acts out as he does – he’s just a kid and lacks stability at home. And I totally get it that children in these kinds of situations rarely have a happy ending. But Johnson seems to just drop Midnight’s storyline without so much s a by your leave.
Still, Johnson captured my attention early and kept me turning pages (or changing discs). I wanted to know what would happen to these people and how their stories would play out. This is her debut novel, and I think a little more work (and editing) might have made this a very memorable work.
Shayna Small does a fine job narrating the audiobook. She has a believable voice for the 10-year-old Midnight, as well as the many adults in the novel.
3***
Ruth Tuttle is a chemical engineer married to a marketing executive and living the good life in Chicago. Obama has just been elected President and Ruth’s husband feels the time is right for them to start a family. But Ruth isn’t so sure. What Xavier doesn’t know is that she had a child when she was in high school and gave up that child so she could continue her education. Now she feels she needs to go back to Ganton, Indiana and confront her family about what happened to her baby.
There’s a good premise here and some interesting family dynamics, but I thought Johnson relied too much on the secrets and failed to make sense of the present. Ruth is supposed to be this brilliant scientist and yet she behaves just as impulsively as Midnight, the young white boy she befriends. I get that this is an emotionally fraught situation, but she doesn’t seem to ever sit and think things through before acting.
And I was really bothered by the situation with Midnight, a child who desperately needs parenting. I can understand why he acts out as he does – he’s just a kid and lacks stability at home. And I totally get it that children in these kinds of situations rarely have a happy ending. But Johnson seems to just drop Midnight’s storyline without so much s a by your leave.
Still, Johnson captured my attention early and kept me turning pages (or changing discs). I wanted to know what would happen to these people and how their stories would play out. This is her debut novel, and I think a little more work (and editing) might have made this a very memorable work.
Shayna Small does a fine job narrating the audiobook. She has a believable voice for the 10-year-old Midnight, as well as the many adults in the novel.