Ambitious in its themes and were it a bigger book, more specific in its world-building, and were the parallel narratives treated with the same depth as the main story, the novel could have presented a much more powerful statement on the interminability of the Black woman’s struggle to assert her own personhood ... Gaps in the picture Rashad paints raised questions for me, speed bumps that interrupted the flow of the reading experience ... But perhaps these are the concerns of someone who has read too much speculative fiction ... When the novel explores these questions, it is at its most fascinating. And its most impressive.
Provocative ... Rashad is terrific at characterization — we feel deeply Solenne's confusion, pain and hope. As she ponders her mother's words and tries to take control of her own life, she springs to vivid life.
Rashad’s fantastic debut evokes familiar history, such as Sally Hemings’ forced relationship with Thomas Jefferson, yet is also wholly new, weaving together vividly imagined characters in Solenne and Henriette and deftly moving through multiple time periods ... Horrifying, captivating, and full of urgency.
