A review by leah_alexandra
Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins

mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm so conflicted here because I really really wanted to love this book. The premise sets this up to be a totally fascinating read, but the writing and overall execution just falls flat. The dialogue is trite, and there is very little character development because of how quickly the book moves forward in time, skipping chunks of years in the process. Many of the minor characters and plot points feel like caricatures meant to make quite heavy-handed points about Black motherhood, which is a tremendously important conversation to have, but does it have to be so intro-level? I kind of wish the story had either leaned in harder to the magical realism aspects or taken a harder turn towards realism with a more in-depth exploration of Amara's work in the DA's office to put together a case against the Melancons. It wasn't a bad book, just not as good as I was expecting. 
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