Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - The Kindest Lie

CW: racism, casual ableism, pregnancy & birth (graphic/on page), violence, alcohol use, drug use mentioned, gun violence, police brutality, death of a parent mentioned, infertility & miscarriage mentioned, classism, bullying, violence, child abuse

this type of contemporary isn't usually my go-to, so I had a bit of a hard time getting into it, but overall a really good read. Johnson has a way with words and I'd be interested in what she writes next.

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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The best parts of this book were the intimate exchanges between the characters and the descriptions of everyday life. The book fell short when it added in social commentary that was disguised as reflective thought. It is hard to believe that the character would have such clarity of thought at that moment.

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seawarrior's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Kindest Lie skillfully weaves together the experiences and perspectives of multiple characters in a floundering small town to present a novel where there are no easy answers. Johnson excels at giving her characters unique voices and slowly unraveling their life story to explain who they've become and why. Ironically, the character I felt least compelled by was Ruth. Her naivety and lack of planning frustrated me at times, while in other scenarios her dialogue read too perfect to believe a real person would react how she was. Luckily by the end of the book I felt like Ruth had matured into accepting more responsibility for herself while still speaking her truth. Otherwise, I thought each of the characters were written very authentically, and that Johnson obviously did the research to ensure they would be. The book was much less dramatic than I had expected it to be, which isn't a negative feature. Instead of using flashy, scandalous tropes, Johnson grabs the reader's attention by pitting Ruth's differing responsibilities against each other to a devastating effect. Ultimately, this is a story about the weight of the sacrifices families must make to protect their youngest members, and how Black families are always expected to sacrifice more. I would recommend this book to other readers, especially those looking for stories with multifaceted narratives about race and class in the United States.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Kindest Lie opens on the eve of Obama’s 2008 victory. Ruth and her husband are a well-educated, financially comfortable Black couple. He is eager to start a family but she is uncertain because when she was 17 she had a baby that was put up for adoption. He’s upset she didn’t tell him sooner; she flees to her family home, somewhere she hasn’t visited in over 4 years and begins to search for information about her child.

While this was a perfectly fine book it fell a little short for me and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hope. What worked well for me was the exploration of the intersection of race and class - the ways the lives of working class Blacks and whites were similar and the ways they’d diverged, plus similarities and differences between working class Blacks and those who were at least middle-class. The portrayal of a small town suffering from an economic downturn, and the scenes showing police attitudes and behaviour towards Blacks were also well done. The family drama component of the plot also worked reasonably well. I may not have agreed with the way Mama handled the baby’s adoption but I understood her motivation, and Ruth’s reaction when she learnt the truth of it.

Where I struggled especially was with Ruth who often seemed selfish and self-centred. Some of that could perhaps be put down to her struggles as a Black woman from a poorer background and for having had decisions regarding her baby’s adoption made for her. However, the way she revealed herself to that child seemed inexcusable with the focus on her wants not his needs. Too often the book told rather than showed, and did so in a way that I failed to find convincing. Ruth’s friendship with Midnight is just one example. The ending also seemed a little too quick and neat to be satisfying or believable.

To reiterate, a perfectly fine book that didn’t fully click for me.

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sam_h's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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bunchofbeereads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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rachaelreads1989's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

This book was incredible. It had a lot of character growth and development. Ruth and Midnight are two narrators that are both on a journey of figuring out how they fit in to the world in relation to the family and identity. While one is a successful adult black woman and the other is a poor eleven year old white boy, their stories really mirror each other in very subtle but profound ways. I thought that was cleverly done. Highly recommend.

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bookdragon217's review

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"One thing I learned a long time ago is that you can't live your life looking back."

Thank you @williammorrowbooks for the gifted copy.

Bookdragon rating 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I finished The Kindest Lie a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it because there is so much to unpack. This novel was a perfect blend of rich character and plot development. It starts out very slow but so many layers and back story are added on that the wait is worth it. By the time the story reached its peak, it was so tense I was literally holding my breath. The writing style is so beautiful and poetic that you are captivated from the very first sentence. It was an emotional roller coaster but I'm glad I went for the ride. Ruth and Midnight played tug of war with my heart the entire time.

This book is a window into a segment of the country that isn't always in the spotlight. Your own perspective will be tested with the different dilemmas each character is facing and the decisions they choose to make. Each one is essentially in survival mode trying to maintain secrets and lies but the truth always comes out at the worst times.

I was left pondering:

- What defines motherhood? How do you begin to mother in the future when the choices about your own body were taken away?
- How can you live an authentic life while holding on to so much pain and keeping secrets?
- How do you fill the void of feeling unwanted by your parents?
- Does lying for the greater good ever pan out?
- How could Ruth's family and Lena's family never address the very real racial barriers/ bias in their friendship?
- How will Midnight deal with his brewing racial tensions?
- Does marraige automatically require full disclosure of past trauma?
- How does society return the innocence of youth back to Black children?
- How do groups with similar struggles of varying degrees come to a place of open communication and move past the biases?
- Class and education cannot save you from the violence of racism.

My mind is still spinning with so many thoughts. This book is timely, necessary and beautifully written. I cannot wait to see else the author has in store for us because this debut packed a punch.

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