This story follows the Vignes twins, born in a town where it's more acceptable to be light-skin than dark skin. The two sisters, Stella and Desiree, eventually realize they want more from their life and leave town leaving their mom to fend for herself.  20 years later, Desiree returns to her home town with her black child, which stirs up some controversy. But where is Stella? And what happened to her after the sisters left their small town of Mallard?

I found this story really interesting because it brought up something that doesn't get talked about to often, "passing as white." When the twins left to New Orleans to start their lives over, Stella realized she could pass as white and in the 60s, it's better to be white than black. But what happens when everyone around you believes that your white? You can't go back to your family, your history becomes erased because that would destroy your illusion, this whiteness, that you've created.  When Stella passed as white, she became racist because she was terrified of every black person finding her out her secret.

However, what I really enjoyed about this book was how the two nieces found each other and their stories intertwined. Desiree's black child, Jude, moved to Los Angeles to go to school and somehow met Kennedy Sanders, Stella's white child. I loved these 2 characters stories. Jude falls in love with Reese who is a "she" but in the process of changing over. I loved how nonchalant Reese's character was, there was no drama with him changing, there was no "thinking-it-over" between the two. Jude fell in love with Reese just the way he is and I thought that relationship was so pure.  Kennedy is a rich and spoiled brat who only finds solace when on stage. Her parents want her to focus on school but Kennedy finds it easier when she can pretend to be someone else, just like her mother. 

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it had some great lessons with some great characters. In the end, I do wish Stella became more open about her past and really own it but she chose her bed and now she has to sleep in it. I am happy that she was able to open up to her daughter more though. I am not surprised that this book has won a couple awards because it truly does bring up really great topics and lessons that everyone can relate to.