The Vignes twins may be identical, but each chooses a different path in life after they run away at the age of sixteen. The time span is 1950 - 1990s. The small southern town in Mallard, Louisiana, consists of a black community with light skin, and the lighter to them, the better. Stella and Desiree are beautiful, light-skinned, and bored. Desiree ends up in an abusive marriage to a dark black man and they have a daughter--Jude--who is called black as tar. Desiree isn't sure how Mallard would react to her daughter, but at last, she leaves her husband and takes Jude back to her hometown. Stella passes as a white woman, marries a man who has no clue she is black, and moves to California where no one knows her past--not even her husband. They have a blond-haired daughter, Kennedy. When a black family wants to move into their neighborhood, Stella speaks against allowing them in. This is a story of family ties, choices, and circumstance. When Jude, who is going to school to become a doctor, crosses paths with Kennedy, who is acting in plays, secrets are uncovered that are tough to accept. This is definitely a page turner.

This book is for anyone interested in identity issues, family and relationships, and personal decisions.

After reading this book, I wondered if there really were southern black towns that wanted to look more white than black. I had never heard of this and so I'm going to do some research on it.

Brit Bennett's debut was a bestselling novel titled "The Mothers." She is from southern California and graduated from Stanford University and earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan. This is her second book.

This book is a page turner, weaving multiple levels of thought-provoking issues. Each character has something to offer.

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Created Sep 04, 2020 at 10:12pm • Submit your own review...