NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE US by Stephanie Powell Watts

NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE US by Stephanie Powell Watts *** - Based in a decrepit North Carolina town, No One is Coming to Save Us details a year in the life of a black family coping with generational poverty, loss and grief, mental health struggles, infertility, infidelity, and small-town gossip. JJ Ferguson - now going by Jay - returns to his hometown to build his dream home and win back his high school sweetheart, Ava. Ava is battling infertility, infidelity, and an uncertain future. Ava’s mother Sylvia is attempting to resolve the problems in her family’s life and deal with the uncertainties in her own.

This novel was a slow-building character-driven story that allowed the reader to glimpse into the hearts and minds of each flawed and lovable character. I love a story that jumps around between voices and allows each person to speak their own truth. Not only does this give depth to the story but it allows the reader to sympathize with every character, even the ‘bad guys.’ This was billed as a modern take on The Great Gatsby, and after reading reviews (before starting the book) I realized I should just go into it as its own wonderful story. I think you should, too. The similarities aren’t really there - unless you really stretch - and I think that gives the book itself a disservice. A wonderfully tragic story with a hopeful ending that is universally relevant and resonant - and the debut novel written by a female black author.

This one fell short of four stars for me only because there were so many typos it was hard to concentrate. Also - although the writing was poetic and beautiful at times, at other times it seemed too vague and cloudy to really understand what was happening (taking away from the overall experience). However, I would love to read more from Watts.