The Kindest Lie by Nancy JohnsonMy rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The book was decently written and paced. The main character is Ruth, who returns to her hometown to find out what happened to the baby she had to leave in order to succeed and continue onto Yale.
During the search Ruth connects with a family friend’s grandson, Patrick nicknamed Midnight, who becomes a major part of the story, having his own point of view sections. This was an interesting choice, as this kid is certainly not Ruth’s, as he is white, but you know he will be important to the story.
The first section as this narrator felt like the child was younger than 11, a bit naïve for his age and circumstances. We see through his innocent eyes how some adults react to his friends who are not white, how they seem to accuse them of things quickly. He sees racism in the community without understanding it.
There are a couple of points in the book that didn’t ring fully true to me, but perhaps I’m projecting my own attitudes. If I were married five years and we had a major blowout argument I still would call or text my husband during Christmas if we were apart. This having the husband on hold was hard for me to accept. There were a couple of scenes that seemed off to me, out of character, but that is a minor flaw. I rounded the book up to four stars since the aspect of talking about racism and classism was handled deftly, it wasn’t in your face pushing these issues. It’s part of life, especially in hard hit towns where manufacturing has left, and it was seamlessly added as part of the book.
Thanks to William Morrow/Custom House and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment