Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction and Kirkus Prize Finalist
A stunning new talent in literary fiction, Nafissa Thompson-Spires grapples with black identity and the contemporary middle class in compelling, boundary-pushing vignettes. Each plunges headfirst into the lives of utterly original characters. Some are darkly humorous: two mothers exchanging snide remarks through notes in their kids' backpacks - while others are devastatingly poignant: a teen torn between her upper middle class upbringing and her desire to fully connect with black culture. Exquisitely rendered, satirical, and captivating, they all shine a light on the simmering tensions and precariousness of black citizenship.