Kin

As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.

Annie and Vernice (Niecy) are cradle-mates, both motherless girls growing up in the tiny town of Honeysuckle, Louisiana in the early 50s. Niecy’s mother was killed by her father, and she’s raised by an aunt who reluctantly returned to the small town to do her duty. Annie’s mother nursed her once and then skipped town, leaving her to be raised by her strict grandmother. The two grow up closer than sisters, but their lives are fated to take very different directions.

Annie’s entire life is shaped around the loss of her mother, and she embarks on what is a perhaps misguided but determined quest to find her. It will take her in some unexpected directions, and end with a fight for her life. Whether she’s living in what is essentially a whorehouse or trying to earn a living waiting tables in Memphis, she is always searching for her mother, aching to fill that bottomless hole, burning bridges when necessary to reach her.

Vernice leaves Honeysuckle to attend Spelman College in Atlanta, where she encounters a world far beyond the confines of her small town upbringing. On her very bus ride into town, she inadvertently falls foul of the bus segregation rules, and as a result gains an undeserved reputation as a fighter. College brings news relationships and new loves, and she will need a deep understanding of her self and her ultimate priorities in order to navigate the new society she finds herself in.

Tayari Jones is a poet writing prose, and Kin is lyrical and poignant. This is a book about sisters and lovers, mothers and daughters, and the deep kinship of heart friends. It’s gorgeously written, with a compulsive plot that grips you and characters that move right into your head and heart. I loved this book so much I’m giving it 5 stars. Highly recommended!