Not sure why it took me so long to pick this book up. But I wish I had done it sooner cause I was left speechless!!! Daniel Black is such an amazing storyteller I could barely put it down. I still can’t believe the way things unfolded.

Emma Jean experienced a lot of verbal and physical abuse during her childhood which could explain why she wanted a daughter so bad. All she wanted was for her mother to love her so maybe she felt she needed a daughter to rewrite her mothers wrongdoings. Either way nothing can truly explain Emma Jean’s choice for lying about Perfect’s gender. Not only was that selfish but it was bizarre asf. Her confession and apology to Perfect(Paul) on his eighth birthday was blunt, unacceptable, and in my opinion unforgivable.

I knew it was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed. Gus was on her ass when he found out. Made Emma sleep on the floor as he should have for what she did.

I like how the author continued to capture the personal stories of the Peace family. While the book was solely based on Paul we get a glimpse of the challenges his family faced.

I thought it was crazy Authorly and James Earl were both basically married to the same woman lol like how that work?

When Mister spoke his truth to Paul I was like wooooow who knew lol.

Eva Mae was one of my favorite characters that girl was just to grown for her own good. When she was playing house with Perfect and said “Don’t yo’ daddy slap yo’ momma when she get smart at the mouth?” Like brrruh what, where are the parents why does she think this is normal or even okay.

Overall, the author crafted a very engaging novel exploring themes surrounding gender, sexuality, hidden secrets, self-hate, settling, forgiveness, and identity. He also highlights the impact parental abuse and neglect can have on a child. There’s so much more I can say about this book but I’ll leave it at this one is a must read!!!