Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Literary Fiction
Release Date: Expected 20th July 2023
Publisher: HQ
Cinnamon and Daisy didn’t expect to be friends when they met on that bench in the park over a year ago, but now their weekly lunch is one of the only things keeping them going.
They’ve both struggled, faced the most difficult things life could throw at them — and still aren’t really sure where they’re going next. But at just nineteen, Daisy finds herself pregnant and alone and knows this is more than she can handle — and there’s only one person she knows who she’d trust to care for her beautiful daughter.
So now Cinnamon finds herself with a baby - nobody, not even her husband can understand why a 35 year old black woman can take this tiny blonde, blue eyed baby who isn’t even hers, but she knows she will do anything to protect her, to protect her and the new life she’s found — even if means giving up everything she had before.
"This is your lowest point. And there was something freeing about that, just letting myself sink to rock bottom, no where lower to go."
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — anything this duo puts out is the perfect pick for a book club because they not only bring an amazing story but there is always so much to talk about and think about.
Pride and Piazza both bring their unique voice and flair to create a powerful, searing story that intersectionally explores race, identity, class, generational trauma, family and love all while telling an explosively intense and entertaining story. They do not shy away from honestly and boldly talking about difficult subjects that affect people but always do it tenderly and with Grace. Their poignant look at womanhood and the maternal relationships we have was absolutely stunning, a moving look at not only the hardships of being a woman in a world not made for them but the beauty of it too.
Cinnamon and Daisy were both beautiful characters — I felt such a deep connection with them both on different levels. Both women have different backgrounds, different lives but are joined together by a sisterhood, a human connection that defies any social divides in the most spectacular ways. Neither of them are perfect people, they make awful choices and act harshly but even at their most distant, I couldn’t help hope for both of them to find peace and happiness.
This story moves slowly, full of scenes of domesticity , but not the blissful kind. We hear from Cinnamon and Daisy, their voices clear and distinct — giving us little observations, memories and thoughts to really let us inside their head, moving between personal realistic narratives and lyrically poetic prose fluidly. The characters and their own personal journeys were the driving force behind this story. Their emotions kept it moving; frustration, desperation, love, desire. Of course we can kind of see where this is going in some ways — but it’s not a mystery novel. We anxiously watch and wait as our characters to put together the pieces of this story and guess where it might go, it isn’t a mystery — but we get to watch as our characters try to fit the pieces together themselves themselves and we wait anxiously, hoping for it to work out and see how this pivotal series of events and people changes their lives. It really made me stop and think about all the little parts that make up a person and create their senses of self, and all the different things a family can be.
A striking story from two powerhouse voices that will ask you one question that seems simple but isn’t — what really makes you belong? It can be summed up by our own Cinnamon “She can’t tell if any of that is sweet or sad, but that the case with so much, isn’t it? A murky mix of the two."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.
cw; racism, body image, adoption, self harm, homelessness, infertility, neglect, sexual abuse
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