{Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy}
What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Book Summary:
From the author of Halsey Street, a sweeping novel of legacy, identity, the American family-and the ways that race affects even our most intimate relationships.
A community in the Piedmont of North Carolina rises in outrage as a county initiative draws students from the largely Black east side of town into predominantly white high schools on the west. For two students, Gee and Noelle, the integration sets off a chain of events that will tie their two families together in unexpected ways over the span of the next twenty years.
On one side of the integration debate is Jade, Gee’s steely, ambitious mother. In the aftermath of a harrowing loss, she is determined to give her son the tools he’ll need to survive in America as a sensitive, anxious, young Black man. On the other side is Noelle’s headstrong mother, Lacey May, a white woman who refuses to see her half-Latina daughters as anything but white. She strives to protect them as she couldn’t protect herself from the influence of their charming but unreliable father, Robbie.
When Gee and Noelle join the school play meant to bridge the divide between new and old students, their paths collide, and their two seemingly disconnected families begin to form deeply knotted, messy ties that will shape the trajectory of their adult lives. And their mothers-each determined to see her child inherit a better life-will make choices that will haunt them for decades to come.
As love is built and lost, and the past never too far behind, What’s Mine and Yours is an expansive, vibrant tapestry that moves between the years, from the foothills of North Carolina, to Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Paris. It explores the unique organism that is every family: what breaks them apart and how they come back together.
Publication Date:
March 2nd, 2021
Genre:
Contemporary Fiction
Purchase Your Copy:
Amazon Link | Libro FM Bookstore Link
My Review:
One of my favorite sub-genres is intricately weaved multigenerational family stories and What’s Mine and Yours has it all – coming of age, flawed and sometimes unpredictable characters, and circumstances that help us sort out our own feelings and bias.
Author Naima Coster’s ability to tackle so many important topics while also writing a totally engrossing storyline made this a book that I had a hard time putting down, but also completely thought-provoking at the same time. This story is heavy on family drama and also speaks to how our childhoods shape us into who we are today.
I will say that the book summary led me to think that this book would be more about school integration and while it was a part of the book, it didn’t come about until much later on and also was just a small part of the overall storyline.
There are quite a few characters to keep track of and sometimes I wished for them to be more fleshed out, but I also think that is what made this book so interesting. The subtleties and nuances speak to the moments of gray we all experience in daily life.
This would make for a fascinating book club discussion because of the different interpretations we all might take away from it – which is perfect because it also selected as the March 2021 Read With Jenna pick!
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy.
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