User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I wrote this book. I love this book. And so I had to give it five stars!
Rating: really liked it
Oh, I wanted to like this. Giving it such a low rating pains me. Recommended for fans of
Ask Again, Yes and
A Good Neighborhood—books I love, both—this is a multi-generational contemporary story that covers race and racism, family, love, class, consequences.
I have to be honest: this book is a structural mess. The synopsis makes a point of the local high school opening up to poorer students from the “wrong side of the tracks” so to speak, but this plot-point doesn’t come into play until the 33% mark. A THIRD of the way. That third is spent messily setting up these characters’ (oh-so many characters, too) predicaments and dramas in a few different eras. Most of the characters don’t even interact with each other until the 70% mark. Seriously. Most of this book feels like unrelated, inconsequential side-stories featuring characters I simply never grew to care about.
Aside from Gee: I cared about Gee. We meet him in the first chapter, as a child, and it’s damn unfortunate he’s not given more time to shine. Instead the reader is treated to the nearly insufferable woes of Lisa-May and her daughters, all of them pretty damn unlikable and certainly not sympathetic. Gee is the only reason this book is getting 2 stars from me, instead of 1.
I almost feel like this book tries to do too much, and it’s just not long enough (not that I’d want it to be any longer: God no!) We get the scant story promised in the synopsis, the school letting in poor and (mostly) latinx students, and the tensions that causes, but there are also affairs, and a character trying to make it in Hollywood, and another character concealing her lesbian relationship, and another character fighting cancer. Etc. None of it ever comes together in any cohesive way.
This book is getting fantastic reviews, and I’m sure it’ll be quite popular upon its release. I usually love books like this, but this one just didn’t hit the mark. At all. They can’t all be winners, but this didn’t come close. Alas.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this early.
Rating: really liked it
Audiobook.... read by the great Bahni Turpin
“ This novel has a significant amount of empathy for all its characters, even the ones that are difficult to like or you disagree with their world view”.
I couldn’t say it better.... and there were definitely a couple with characters I didn’t like.... until my own empathy expanded.
I absolutely loved watching the characters change over time.
This was a terrific novel - originally inspired by the reporting of Nikole Hannah-Jones......who covered an integration program in Missouri — White parents were opposing the admission black students.
A look at the public schools —along with bullying, marriage, divorce, miscarriage,, drug abuse, LBGTQIA, prejudice, racism, family struggles. sibling rivalry, community, theater, shop talk, friendships, love, life, redemption........etc. ITS ALL HERE.... packaged beautifully and soulfully!
Set in Piedmont, North Carolina... this novel takes place over several decades.
4.5 stars.
Rating: really liked it
There's so much going on in this novel that each reader has the potential to take away something different from the story. Race, addiction, social class, and relationships are just some of the subjects the author tackles in this book. It didn't take long for me to feel thoroughly engrossed in the characters' lives. Highly recommend checking this one out if you enjoy multi-generational family dramas.
Honestly, other than having a general idea of some of the topics explored in the story, you really don't need to know too much before diving right in. To cover the basics though, the setting is Piedmont, North Carolina and takes place over the course of a few decades. Some of the characters include Gee, a young Black male being raised by his mother, Jade, and Lacey May, a white woman raising her half-Latina daughters.
The publisher synopsis mentions a school integration plot and while it certainly plays a key role, it is not the bulk of the story. The author takes her time developing the characters, which is a good thing, before revealing how everything ties into one another. I'm not saying the synopsis is misleading, but judging by a few other reviews, some of us readers were surprised it was pretty far along in the book before you even get to the school stuff.
I did have a minor problem with the story as I feel Lacey May was not a fully developed character. However, this is one of the reasons why I think this novel would make a great book club selection as there are so many things to discuss. I might completely change my mind after hearing other readers' thoughts about the character. Perhaps the groundwork was laid in subtle ways throughout the story as to some of her opinions. If it was, it went completely went over my head and instead it seemed like it came out of left field. But maybe that's more realistic as sometimes you are caught completely off-guard when learning someone's viewpoint.
I am thankful I had the opportunity to read this one as I can't stop thinking about the characters. I'm not sure if this is an unpopular opinion but I loved how one particular storyline was wrapped up as it felt true to life. (Without giving anything away, it involved Noelle.)
I won an advance copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
Rating: really liked it
This novel is a masterpiece. I loved it.
Rating: really liked it
Jenna Bush Hager chose “What’s Mine and Yours” as March’s book club read. She is correct, it should be read in a book club. Immediately after reading this, I wanted to talk to someone about it. This novel begs to be discussed.
At the heart of the story is two momma bears. These women are fierce in their devotion to their children; yet their devotion becomes a point of contention with antagonistic results.
The reader gets a look at how Jade and Lacey May begin their families. Jade has a son, Gee, who is sweet and conscientious. Jade is single after Gee, age 6, witnesses his father’s murder. Lacey May has three girls, Noelle, Diane, and Margarita with a drug addict, Robbie, a man from Colombia who hasn’t held a job for more than a few months. Robbie is incarcerated after a drug related crime. Lacey May raises her daughters by herself, even when Robbie returns. Robbie is a drug addict and carries all the unfortunate characteristics of an addict. These events create the mamma bears these women become.
Their lives intersect when the county school where Gee attends is merged via an integration program with a flourishing school in the suburbs of Piedmont, North Carolina. Lacey May’s girls go to this school and is not happy about the program. Lacey May is white, and her girls are half Latina, yet sees her girls as white and thinks this integration will bring down the intellectual side of the school. Jade is pushing for the integration, as this school is larger and has more opportunities. Gee is a good student, and she wants the best for him.
Things get heated at a school assembly to welcome the incoming students. This assembly is comprised of the students and their parents. The women get at it about the underlying implications of racial standards and expectations. Noelle is horrified by her mother, considers her mother to be racists. Meanwhile, Gee doesn’t want to go to a school that doesn’t want him. He doesn’t want to fight this battle. These integration fights become pivotal in Gee and Noelle’s future.
Beyond the integration debate that is foremost in the novel, author Naima Coster also delves into the different parenting styles of these two women. In my opinion, Lacey May is a nightmare. Her devotion to her drug addicted ex-husband is disturbing. Those poor girls, the mixed and confusing messages Lacey May displays through their lives is horrific. She wants her girls to have a better life than she, yet she continues to substantiate a dysfunctional love relationship with Robbie.
Meanwhile Jade is a strong black woman who pushes Gee without considering his soft and emotional side. He is raised devoid of tender love, with a hellcat of a mamma. She far more stable than Lacey May, although she’s not perfect in her actions either.
This novel definitely shows the messy side of family. Dysfunction is a development, a slow process. While all have good intentions for their own kin, they don’t see the big picture. It’s like winning a battle and losing the war.
I found the novel distressing, which means lots of fodder for a book club. Naima Coster writes a fantastically relevant story about racial beliefs and family dynamics.
Rating: really liked it
Riding the coattails of
Little Fires Everywhere and
The Vanishing Half,
What's Mine and Yours not only tells a blow-by-blow predictable tale but one that failed to entertain or elicit any feelings other than frustration in this particular reader.
What's Mine and Yours, ya basic.
To call the writing in this novel 'prose' seems misleading as this is some of the most lifeless writing that I have ever come across. That is not to say that it is bad or terrible but
dio mio, does it lack heart (if someone had told me that this book was written by an ai i would have believed them). Anyway, as you might have already guessed, I did not like this book. In fact, it really really really irritated me. The only reason why I persevered was that I listened to the audiobook which is superbly narrated by the one and only Bahni Turpin (had it not been for her i would have dnfed this).
As with any other of my negative reviews, I encourage those who want to read this book to check out some more positive opinions. Do keep in mind that the summary is extremely misleading. The school integration is not the focus of the novel, merely a plot device to further the drama between the characters and create some tension for our star-crossed lovers.
SPOILERS BELOW
Positives
✓The opening chapter. It has the most fleshed-out character in the whole novel who
for reasons does not make a single appearance after that.
Negatives
✕ Story & Structure
This novel gives a halfhearted attempt at a non-linear/multiple perspectives kind of narrative but unlike The Travellers it clearly favours certain povs and timelines over others. So while the summary will have you think that the story pivots around in particular on the school integration, well it does not. The chapters set in 2018, years after the integration has taken place, are the real focus of this novel, and jeez, how dull they were. There present readers with some dull family drama, three cardboard cut sisters (the gay one, the wannabe celebrity one, and the one who is having marriage problems and wants children). There is an attempt to make a character's identity into a big reveal but it was obvious who they were from the very start. So, structure-wise, this novel sucks. Why implement multiperspectives' if you are mainly sticking with two characters? The non-linear timeline adds nothing to the story, as it fails to build suspense or give a sense of mystery to certain events. The story attempts to touch upon topical & serious issues but it ultimately fails to deliver a substantial exploration of race, class, identity, and motherhood, opting instead for a very superficial social commentary that is chock full of platitudes.
✕ Characters
The characters were either lazy caricatures or reduced to one single characteristic. While I was reading I asked someone what they envisioned when I said 'Lacey May' and they made a face. And that's basically it. Lacey May is the kind of character you are not meant to like. Fair enough, as I am more than able to enjoy books with dislikable characters....as long as they are given some nuance or depth. Lacey May...is portrayed as a shrill, bigoted, 'i'm not a racist but', self-centred white woman who is so OTT she gave me a bloody headache. Do people like her exist? Probably yes. Do I want to read pages and pages from her perspective that kind of try to humanise her but not really? No. Fuck no. How about no fucking thanks. I found Noelle to be just as unsympathetic (so you have a deadbeat father, boohoo, join the club). She has no real personality and is mainly defined by the fact that she is Lacey May's daughter. Gee, who is Black and one of the students who ends up at Noelle's mostly white fancy high school, is very much sidelined in favour of drama between Noelle and her mother.
✕ Sex scenes
There was an odd amount of sex scenes that...why? They were either incredibly cheesy or just plain wtf: “He was still her husband, she his wife. They moved together for a short time. It was all liquid and soft muscle, a warm mess. ” Give me a break. We even get a scene in which Gee is masturbating and...what did that add to his story? The guy already doesn't get enough page time and you are wasting what little he has on a scene where he masturbates? Because of course, that's what teen boys do!
✕ Low-key problematic
I am so sick of stories that punish characters who have abortions. Here that character later in life has a miscarriage and wants children but can't have them. She eventually does have a child but with another man and after a period of cheesy self-reflection in which she confronts the 'ghosts' from her past.
I was also not a fan of the gay rep in this book. It had a vague hint of 'the token gay'.
This is the book equivalent of a soap opera. It was full of clichés (married man goes to france eats croissants and has an affair with a younger woman), unnecessary melodrama involving Lacey May and her daughters, and it felt vaguely moralistic (especially the way the abortion/miscarriage were handled). The uber generic writing, as previously mentioned, was not to my taste.
This is the kind of novel that seems to have been 'made' with book clubs in mind. So, if you are a fan of Jojo Moyes and Kristin Hannah, chances are you'll like it more than I did.
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Rating: really liked it
[3.6] A solid drama that adeptly portrays race and class and family dynamics through multiple viewpoints from childhood to adulthood. I like this novel and Coster’s warm, skillful writing! But I wonder if it will stay with me? So many characters and I didn't really bond with any of them.
Rating: really liked it
A family drama type story with intersecting characters over 30 years. Overall very solid. The book hooked me from the start (though I lost steam 60% in) and I was interested in most of the characters. It’s a lot of people doing their best through life and dealing with things like addiction, grief, incarceration, fucked up family. Very solid but didn’t quiet pull it off for me it got cliched and predictable by the end. It’s a good book, easy and enjoyable to read, but it didn’t stick the landing.
Rating: really liked it
I really hate giving 1 star reviews, so this pains me.
The biggest problem I had was in the disjointed writing. It was chaotic. Perspectives were switched mid-page, even mid-paragraph! One sentence we'd hear and see one character's viewpoint, then the next sentence we're in another characters head. It was really confusing and hard to follow at times.
There were way too many characters that we didn't need to see their perspectives and really muddled the story. There were 3 different timelines that bounced around randomly and was not fluid.
The synopsis was misleading as I thought I was getting a story about race and the impacts of integrating schools from a "poorer side of town" but that was such a small part of the story. I think the author missed an opportunity to deliver something profound. Instead it feels like every societal topic relevant today was thrust in here and attempted to be tackled. At times it was a bit preachy. Instead of showing, it was a lot of telling. But I attribute this to too much going on and a lack of focus on just one or two topics.
There was a little twist towards the end that's so obvious it should've just been revealed up front. It's not even really a twist, but a withholding of information.
Disappointed :(
Rating: really liked it
“What’s Mine and Yours” by Naima Coster is a sweeping, fresh new novel. It is the story of two American families, specifically two mothers, each fighting for a better future for their kids. As a mother myself, I related to moms Lacey May and Jade’s fierce love for their children even when they made mistakes. Nobody understands us like our families, even when imperfect.
The story is epic in scope. It is about understanding the demons and the hardships that come before us and how they affect our lives.
It will spark conversations around race, identity and what it means to belong in our families, schools and communities while racial differences, misunderstandings and personal tragedies create chasms between us.
Click here to get your copy today!
Rating: really liked it
Told over the course of 30+ years, #WhatsMineAndYours is the story of 2 families: Ray and Jade (a Black couple), who live with their young son on the mainly Black east side of Piedmont, North Carolina; and Lacey May (a white woman), who along with her charming and troubled husband Robbie (Latinx), are raising three half-Latina daughters in a predominantly white neighborhood. When Piedmont decides to consolidate and essentially integrate its school district, the two families are inextricably connected in ways that will reverberate for years to come.
Reminiscent of ASK AGAIN, YES, THE MOST FUN WE’VE EVER HAD and YOUR HOUSE WILL PAY…WMAY is a complex and thought-provoking story about the sacrifices mothers make to do whatever it takes to support their families. It is also an excellent exploration of cultural and implicit bias, in particular, the character of Lacey May, a mother with a racist grudge against Jade and her family, who is no stranger to adversity herself as she struggles to raise biracial kids. Also worth mentioning the gut-wrenching twist at the end that Coster executes masterfully, tying the story together with an emotionally-impactful ending I did not see coming.
Rating: really liked it
The first chapter is an absolute masterpiece, with a strong and compelling central character. So vivid you can smell the donuts. The second chapter, also breathtaking. But then what? Thereafter the story strays, following an angry, distant and difficult family. It was a slog to wade through their various missteps. The story was inconsistently told, and I found the withheld information to be maddening and pointless.
Rating: really liked it
This is a well-written multi-generational family saga set in North Carolina that spans 28 years in two families’ lives. The chapters shift back and forth over time, and switch perspectives between different characters in the families. The format challenged me a little bit; sometimes, I had to scroll back a few chapters to pick up the narrative thread for a character.
Coster touches on LGBT issues, racism, class, addiction, social media, poverty and probably more themes that escape me right now. She doesn’t beat you over the head with any of it, it flows naturally within the characters’ situations.
My only complaint is that some of the characters didn’t feel as three-dimensional as they could be. Lacey May, for example - I never got a handle on who she really was. She came off to me as an awful person, but her husband(s) adored her. Why?
A perfect 3.5, rounded up to a 4 for the story-telling and writing.
Rating: really liked it
I think I will need to re-read this book one more time, just to make sure my review is correct.
The writing is amazing! Having read Coster's previous book, I can tell you her writing aged beautifully.
