A review by suzyreadsbooks
Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie

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 đź’–

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.

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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!

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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
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