This is my last read of 2024 and I have mixed feelings. 

What I loved:

I absolutely love the writing, it’s beautiful and poetic. You really see the vision and can picture Charlie and Sidney on their journey.  Along the way there are messages of belonging, identity, history, and sacrifice. I love how the young people in the story are given a voice and are often the main voice of enlightenment throughout the story. I thought that was really cool and intentional. This book touches on a lot of important topics, there are also many history lessons in the pages. I love seeing Alabama as this Black mecca that’s thriving with community and innovation. The characters we meet here are probably my favorite in the entire story. It’s super imaginative and bold as hell. I definitely experienced many emotions while reading. 

What I didn’t love: 

While I loved the messages of belonging, I found Sidney to be insufferable even as I extended grace to her character. I also found Charlie to be confusing.  

My frustration comes from the fact that both characters experienced something extremely traumatic. But we only get to experience Sidney’s rage. Charlie’s is more so referenced, but we don’t get to really feel it through his dialogue, inner thoughts, or even his interactions with the other characters. 

Also, I love magical realism and science fiction. I think the story would have benefited from having more of those aspects evenly laced throughout the story versus having so much of it at the end. The world building is nice but there are some things left to our imaginations that probably should’ve been explained.

My last critique is the ending left a lot to be desired. I wonder if the story would have benefited from an epilogue, maybe? From the premise, I expected that we would go on a different journey and I wasn’t exactly happy either where we ended up. 

Still, I think this book would be perfect for book clubs. The discussion is needed and it’s absolutely a conversation starter. I attended a talk with the author in Atlanta and I believe that is one of his main goals with this book. I have the same feeling finishing this book as I did when I left that talk - imagine the possibilities, what could a world like this really look like? 

Even with my criticisms, I would still recommend and I’m looking forward to more from this author.