First published 2023
Akorfa and Selasi grew up as inseparable cousins in Ghana, sharing secrets and dreams until everything changed. Selasi transformed from exuberant and funny into someone hostile and withdrawn, her grades plummeting as she built walls around herself. She shut out Akorfa completely, leaving her quiet, studious cousin bewildered and hurt. Akorfa won acceptance to an American university to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor, hoping to build a fuller life as a woman in America. But she quickly discovers that racism creates unexpected barriers in her new country. The cousins remain estranged across continents until a crisis forces them back together. Selasi finally reveals the secret that drove her transformation, while Akorfa must confront her own role in their broken relationship. Their reunion becomes a reckoning with the silences that nearly destroyed their bond forever.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, african-literature, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: estranged-family, fish-out-of-water
Setting: America, Ghana
Period: Contemporary
350 pages · Kindle Edition · Algonquin Books
Content warnings: racism