Audiobook Review: No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts

No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Published: 2017

No One Is Coming to Save Us is a hard book to explain. Set in North Carolina it follows the life of 5 people who are related and not related.

First there is Ava who is desperate to have a child, but she barely sees her husband Henry and she has had too many miscarriages to count.

Then there is Sylvia, Ava's mother who is the stereotypical black mother, in everyone's business and determined to get the best for her child.

Up next is Jay Jay who used to live in the same small town. At the first opportunity he moved away from the small town, but now he is back and wants to win back Ava's affection.

Henry, is Ava's husband and he hasn't done right by her and when she finds out, all bets are off.

Don, is Sylvia's husband, but they haven't lived together since Ava was a little girl.

All of these people are living their lives in small town North Carolina. There really wasn't much of a climax or anything to look forward to in this book. It was a disappointment for me.



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Review: The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Things We Wish Were True takes place in a small town in North Carolina during the summer of 2014. It's a very close knit community and most residents have lived there most of their lives. From Zell, the neighborhood matriarch to Jancey the "prodigal" daughter returning after making a quick escape after high school. Each character has their own story and each story intertwines with each character. It includes twists and turns that will make you need to find out what is going to happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I will admit that at the beginning of the book, there was a little confusion with all the different characters, but after getting into the story, everything soon became clear. Each character carries a secret. Some secrets are small and others could be catastrophic.

Zell - has been limping around all summer and has stopped running, why/
Cailey - is growing up faster than she wants to or should, but with a single working mother is there anything that can stop that.
Bryte - doesn't want to have a second child, the first time was so difficult, she doesn't want to go through that again.
Jencey - Returns home after being away for so long. Will she stay for good this time, or will she run again like she did in the past.
Lance - has recently become a single father, but how long will that be the case?
Everett - Married to Bryte and ex of Jencey has a few of his own secrets that could tarnish his relationships.

There is one story about a summer in North Carolina, told from each persons point of view. Each character has their own side to the story centered around the neighborhood pool. It dives into the past which helps to progress the present. At the end of this summer the whole neighborhood will be changed from the secrets that are revealed.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to reading more of her books.


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Review--Far From the Tree by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant

Far From the Tree by Virginia DeBerry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoy the way, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant capture the true essence of African American female relationships in their books.  Far from the Tree was no exception.

Ronnie and Celeste are sisters that have never really gotten along.  Odella, their mother is also not the easiest to get along with.  When the three are brought together in the same house after many years of being apart, their relationships start to take on a whole new meaning.  Following the death of Will, the husband and father who had always been around to love and support them, the women are forced to examine their lives and make some hard decisions in order to move forward and grow.

Celeste, married to Everett, who is a doctor, has never been satisfied with their simple lifestyle.  She has always wanted more for them even though she has never had to want for anything.

Ronnie, who has been a struggling actress in New York and fools herself and her family into thinking that she has it all together and is doing great.  She actually has had more addresses than acting roles.

Odella, who had run from her past for so long that when it comes rushing back at her, she is overwhelmed by it all.

Together these women learn to love themselves and one another again. And they learn that keeping secrets is never a good idea.

There are talks that this book may be made into a major motion picture.  I would be the first in line for a ticket.  I would love to see who they get to portray the characters.


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