A review by mysimas
Notes on Her Color by Jennifer Neal

Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
The beginning was amazing:

„MY MOTHER COULD CHANGE THE COLOR OF HER skin. From what I’m told, it was a gift she inherited from her mother, who inherited it from her mother before her, passed down from blood to blood along with diseases, artistic hysteria, and a predilection for loving the wrong men. My great-grandmother was an Aniyunwiya witch and used to change color before sneaking into settlements to gather supplies and conduct trade.”

The whole first chapter was like this and really made me believe I was up for a ride. Sadly, the rest didn’t measure up. 

The writing stayed fine throughout, even if it went a bit too lyrical for my taste. But the contents are just a thousand and one metaphores about what it’s like to be black and female and queer in America and there’s literally nothing else to water down this onslaught — no plot /just coming of age story/, no compelling character work, nothing. I skimmed to about the half-way mark and there’s still no change for the better, so I’m giving up.
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