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bookishmillennial's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I listened to the audiobook via Libby and really enjoyed listening to Bahni Turpin prove why she’s the baddest in the game once again. Every time her voice graces my ears, I am so delighted!
There were some questionable moments from characters, like calling the Vietnamese shop the “Chinese shop” (but I recognize they were kids when they made this reference! I’m just saying!) The mom who was losing her memory alluded to some transphobia, but it was challenged by the main character!
Besides this, I did enjoy this contemporary fictional story based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania about an almost-39-year-old woman, Skye (who defines herself as “mostly lesbian”) who suddenly finds out she has a 12-year-old daughter, Vicky! Wild premise. She begins to fall for her daughter’s adoptive aunt Faye, and while denying any feelings to her bestie V, she generally struggles with allowing anyone to get too close to her anyway, because she’s sure they’ll leave anyway and they never care as much as they claim to. In this world? Fair. I can’t blame her too much.
Anyway, I loved the relationships that inevitably grew and evolved with her biological daughter Vicky, Faye, her mom, her brother & her bestie! I thought they all provided mirrors to Skye to show different parts of her, but all of them were worthy of being loved. I also thought her friendship with the reverend was tender, and so authentic. The queer community historically does not have the best relationship with any kind of religious entity, and I appreciated how genuinely open and compassionate the reverend was. It’s hard to not project our own familial trauma onto the next generation, and I was really proud of Skye for her journey!
steam rating: 2 out of 5
I listened to the audiobook via Libby and really enjoyed listening to Bahni Turpin prove why she’s the baddest in the game once again. Every time her voice graces my ears, I am so delighted!
There were some questionable moments from characters, like calling the Vietnamese shop the “Chinese shop” (but I recognize they were kids when they made this reference! I’m just saying!) The mom who was losing her memory alluded to some transphobia, but it was challenged by the main character!
Besides this, I did enjoy this contemporary fictional story based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania about an almost-39-year-old woman, Skye (who defines herself as “mostly lesbian”) who suddenly finds out she has a 12-year-old daughter, Vicky! Wild premise. She begins to fall for her daughter’s adoptive aunt Faye, and while denying any feelings to her bestie V, she generally struggles with allowing anyone to get too close to her anyway, because she’s sure they’ll leave anyway and they never care as much as they claim to. In this world? Fair. I can’t blame her too much.
Anyway, I loved the relationships that inevitably grew and evolved with her biological daughter Vicky, Faye, her mom, her brother & her bestie! I thought they all provided mirrors to Skye to show different parts of her, but all of them were worthy of being loved. I also thought her friendship with the reverend was tender, and so authentic. The queer community historically does not have the best relationship with any kind of religious entity, and I appreciated how genuinely open and compassionate the reverend was. It’s hard to not project our own familial trauma onto the next generation, and I was really proud of Skye for her journey!
steam rating: 2 out of 5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
shector1's review
emotional
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
readsandsuch's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Racism, Transphobia, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse and Sexual harassment
caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thanks to Random House for the free copy of this book.
- Let's have some queer screaming about SKYE FALLING! This book is real queer and messy in the best way! Lesbian, bisexual, and trans rep among the main characters, and everyone is out and feels at home with their identities! Love it!
- This book can be pretty heavy, especially when Skye is looking back at her childhood. But it's also super funny, keeping it from becoming a plodding recitation of traumas, as books about messy adults often are.
- It's wonderful to see a book full of queer adults. So often in books - especially non-genre fiction adult novels - you get a queer person surrounded by straight people, or maybe one or two other queer minor characters. But Skye's life is deeply queer, and her community (as small as it is at the start) feels real.
- Let's have some queer screaming about SKYE FALLING! This book is real queer and messy in the best way! Lesbian, bisexual, and trans rep among the main characters, and everyone is out and feels at home with their identities! Love it!
- This book can be pretty heavy, especially when Skye is looking back at her childhood. But it's also super funny, keeping it from becoming a plodding recitation of traumas, as books about messy adults often are.
- It's wonderful to see a book full of queer adults. So often in books - especially non-genre fiction adult novels - you get a queer person surrounded by straight people, or maybe one or two other queer minor characters. But Skye's life is deeply queer, and her community (as small as it is at the start) feels real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Abandonment
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Infertility, Sexual content, Police brutality, Medical content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
suzyreadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thx @randomhouse for the free e-copy 💖
This is a funny, fast-paced, heartfelt book that centers Black queer women & reads like a love letter to West Philly. Skye, a Black lesbian in her late 30s, is hesitantly forging a relationship with a 12 y old girl who was conceived w her donor egg. As she tentatively settles back into her hometown for the first time in years, she’s forced to confront all that she’s been avoiding.
—
Things I loved:
-The engaging first person POV: lots of sarcastic quips, occasionally breaking the fourth wall, and quickly oscillating between cheesy humor & candid realizations. Similar to Sam Irby’s style.
-This book handled a lot of subjects in a nuanced and sensitive way. I loved the way two medical situations were discussed throughout:
➡️The impact of Faye and Cynthia’s family history of cancer: grieving the loss of loved ones, fearing their own diagnoses, making life decisions based on that risk. As a cancer genetic counselor, I’d consider sharing this w patients. I think it would be really validating, esp since media representations of familial cancer often stop at white celebrities.
➡️Skye’s challenging relationship with her newly disabled mother: far from a straightfwd disability narrative, this highlighted the messy nuances of having somebody in your life who really hurt you, but is now in need of your help. A situation where you’ll never get an apology for the irreparable harm they did to you, & and you have to decide if you can still move forward together.
-There’s a sweet sapphic subplot, & I loved the inclusion of sex scenes that aren’t just magically perfect from beginning to end.
-casual lesbian, bi, & trans rep! untranslated Spanish dialogue!
—
I did find the commentary on gentrification to be somewhat lacking—while it spoke a lot about the changing demographics of Philly, there were a few lines that implied that new businesses being Black-owned made up for gentrification. Gentrification is an issue of race and class, and I personally wanted more exploration about class and the issues with Black capitalism. But also 1 contemporary fiction book can’t do it all lol.
Content warnings: police brutality, parental abuse, sexual assault, gentrification, grief, cancer, death of a parent, traumatic brain injury, memory loss, transphobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Ableism and Abortion
Gentrification
More...