PositiveLos Angeles TimesStirring ... Johnson masterfully lays breadcrumbs throughout the novel that resonate once Charlotte’s backstory emerges in a genuinely unexpected and meaningful fashion ... At times, Johnson’s decision to bounce back and forth among the four women’s points of view and time periods... can stall the narrative ... Still, one can’t help but cheer when these women do manage to reach one another’s hearts.
Magogodi oaMphela Makhene
RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewApproaching her sometimes disturbing subject matter without kid gloves, Makhene brings together interlocking narratives that astonish as they reveal how malignant political forces can both ravage and vitalize the human spirit.
Nicole Cuffy
PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewCuffy’s novel transcends familiar narratives about the fraught journey toward artistic distinction by exploring the toll of reaching the end of such a journey ... Cuffy skillfully places readers within the dancer’s body ... Through longer passages about dance that may overwhelm the layperson, Cuffy effectively externalizes the inner disfigurement of a woman unable to receive genuine affection, least of all from herself.
Mirinae Lee
PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewLee’s enthralling book depicts Mook during each of these incarnations, from her escape from a North Korean village to a married life her restive spirit never quite settles into ... In less capable hands, Mook’s deceptiveness as a narrator and the presentation of her life out of chronological order could be disorienting, but Lee drops the right details throughout to reinforce the connections among the stories. While Mook’s adventures in espionage feel a tad less engrossing than her more intimate dramas, Lee keeps readers hooked by expanding Mook’s universe.
Kashana Cauley
RaveThe New York Times Book Review...[a] lethally witty debut ... One might expect a novel about gun-toting, conspiracy-minded loners to lampoon its key players, but the book succeeds because Cauley appears as curious and empathetic toward the survivalists as she is toward her protagonist ... Cauley’s prose comes at an accelerated clip that will at times have readers jumping back a few paragraphs to orient themselves. But devoid of pretense or judgment, her writing style reflects Aretha’s ambivalence, and the narrative’s underlying philosophical inquiries ... Cauley, a former writer for The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, displays an enviably versatile sense of humor...The novel is most fun when her wit bolsters the narrative’s sociopolitical underpinnings.
