A review by sfbookgirl
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

What I love most about this story are the relationships that the main character has with family. Gifty, a sixth-year Ph.D. student at Stanford University, studies reward-seeking behavior in mice as a tool to discover why her brother was addicted to OxyContin. Raised in a religious household, Gifty grapples with the tension between science and religion and how to balance these two important aspects of her life. 
 
I have yet to read Yaa Gysai’s Homegoing, but I really enjoyed Transcendent Kingdom. Some of the scenes involving the lab mice made me squirm and I didn’t love the fact that there were several incorrect Bay Area references, but overall, I liked this character study. Transcendent Kingdom might resonate more with readers who identify as religious, but I found the main character’s inner battle between religion and science fascinating. I can’t see myself rereading this book, but it’s one I will definitely keep on my shelf to remind myself of Gyasi’s prolific writing. 
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