by Naima Coster
First published 2021
When a county initiative forces integration between the predominantly Black east side and white west side high schools in North Carolina's Piedmont, two mothers take opposing stands. Jade fights for her sensitive son Gee to access better opportunities despite the hostility he'll face. Lacey May resists the changes, determined to shield her half-Latina daughters from what she sees as disruption to their lives. She refuses to acknowledge anything but their whiteness while struggling with the aftermath of their unreliable father Robbie's influence. When Gee and Noelle participate in a school play designed to unite the divided student body, their connection sparks a twenty-year entanglement between their families. The story follows both families from North Carolina to Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Paris as the children grow into adults shaped by their mothers' choices. Each woman believes she's securing her child's future, but their decisions create consequences that ripple across decades. The novel examines how race penetrates the most personal relationships and how families fracture and rebuild themselves over time.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, african-american, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Atlanta, Los Angeles, North Carolina, Paris, Piedmont
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
341 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: racism