Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

HOMEGOING begins with the story of two half-sisters born in separate villages in eighteenth-century Ghana, unaware of each other’s existence. One sister is married off to an Englishman slave trader and lives comfortably in a castle while the other sister is sold into slavery, imprisoned in the dungeons of the same castle and eventually shipped off to America.

Gyasi takes us on an emotional journey tracing the subsequent generations of the two women from the Gold Coast in West Africa to present day America. Each descendant narrates their own chapter aptly expressing their pain, frustration, longing and joy.

HOMEGOING describes the horrors and harsh realities of the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, segregation and modern day racism in a clear, accessible way. Gyasi flawlessly transitions from generation to generation with remarkable detail and I felt as though I was traveling along through history and time.

I favored certain characters over others and thought they deserved more than one chapter but that didn’t take away from the significance of each story. HOMEGOING is an extremely powerful and educational book that should be required reading in high school, college and beyond. This book and its unforgettable characters will certainly have a lasting impact on me.