A review by thissagreads
The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

This book is broken into 3 POV’s. A grandmother, her daughter, and her grandson. The grandmother is trying to keep her house, land and the black neighbors beside her, while she constantly chases off real estate crooks. Meanwhile, her daughter leaves an abusive husband, stays in a shelter with her son, thinks she’s better than the people staying and working there when she  falls back in love with her son’s father who’s the leader of a Black Panther type of group. Finally, there a little storyline for the son/grandson watches as his father, and consequently his mother being to take advantage of the people in this group…

In my opinion, this novel left me feeling hollow. The only person I semi-liked was the grandmother but she wasn’t a great parent, and unfortunately her daughter wasn’t a great parent, and instead  of changing for the better, everyone was really selfish. 

Gave this book 1 star because the black panther adjacent group was a cool concept. But there was such a slow heaviness that gave off feelings of hopelessness, lots of reminders about the racial and poverty disparities and disadvantages, poverty, and a constant reflection of the black plight… really depressing read with no closure. Would not recommend.
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