The novel follows Mika Tabor the baby in the family as she spends time with her loved ones listening to their stories and witnessing their struggles. Throughout the book Mika will learn some important lessons from her family. Like her parents who often work long hours and multiple jobs to ensure their kids get to experience all that life has to offer. Or her amazing grandparents who were born during the Jim Crow era and envisioned early on the success they wanted for their family and generations to come. Together they help Mika understand her family history, the meaning of community, and how ordinary people strive to achieve their own American dream. 

Whew this book and the full cast of characters were a lot to take in. I love a good multigenerational family story but when to many characters are involved it leaves room for confusion. I had to reference back to the beginning a few times to remember who is who. But after a while most of the book is told from Mika’s POV which helps keep things in perspective. 

The timeline jumped around quite a bit which I didn’t like because I felt the author could’ve gone in more depth on certain things before changing the topic. I did love the characters and getting to know their backstories especially the grandparents. Grandma was the glue that held the family and community together which many people can relate to. 

The pacing was rather up and down for me and I felt the last quarter of the book didn’t hold up like the rest. I think what may throw many off is how the book is written.  Rather than it solely focusing on a single topic we get a lot of stories told about or from specific family members that make up their family history. Which was probably done purposely since many Black families can’t trace far back in their lineage. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book I increased my rating from a 3.5 to a 4 by the end of it. If you’re a fan of family sagas or books about multigenerational families you’ll enjoy this one. Special thanks to the author & @thedialpress for my gifted copy‼️