Engrossing and moving ... Alternating among each sister’s perspective, the story unravels at a measured pace, deliciously feeding the reader surprises about the past and present throughout. This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Caroline Leavitt’s Cruel Beautiful World (2016), Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage (2018), and other family dramas.
Moving ... This is perfect for fans of Brit Bennett’s The Mothers; readers will be deeply affected by this story of a family wrestling to support itself.
Gray manages a large cast of characters with ease, sharply differentiating between the voices of hardheaded Althea, shrewd Viola, and hesitating Lillian, who narrate the novel in alternating chapters. Scenes of Althea attending Bible study in jail and grappling with her faith tend to drag and read as extraneous to the more pressing family dramas at hand ... A deep dive into the shifting alliances and betrayals among siblings.
