whitneydaniell

Summary

Jojo is just now thirteen, an age where he is defining who he is—both to himself and to those around him. Shedding his adolescent weight, standing tall, confronting life, and measuring himself by the same standards he uses to judge the men around him, Jojo is beginning to stand on his own two feet and take steps into a whole new world.

After being in jail for three years, Jojo’s father, Michael, is preparing to come home—a home built by Jojo’s grandfather for his grandmother, who they affectionately call Pop and Mam. Pop has had Jojo out on the land for years, teaching him how to work it, what the soil should feel like, how to nurture the animals, and how to survive off it when necessary. By all accounts, Pop and Mam didn’t have much, but they made sure Jojo and his baby sister, Kayla, had everything they needed.

Michael, Jojo’s white father, and Leonie, his Black mother, met in high school after the tragic death of Leonie’s brother, Given, at the hands of Michael’s cousin. Unable to detach herself from Michael as she grieves her brother, Leonie clings to him, and they embark on a life together—numbing their pain and trauma with drugs and escapism. They disappear into each other, shutting out the world. Pregnant at seventeen, Leonie wants to be a mother but doesn’t want to mother. She wants Michael.

After getting pregnant again with Kayla, Michael goes to prison, and Leonie’s desire to nurture her children once again takes a backseat to the excruciating grief she still carries.

Now, they’re all in a car together—Leonie, her friend Misty, Jojo, and Kayla—driving up to north Mississippi to pick up Michael from prison. Jojo is in the backseat with Kayla, ever her protector, while Leonie drives, barely outrunning her demons. Leonie wants to be the one Kayla reaches for when she’s upset, but it’s always Jojo she cries out for.

Maybe things will be different once Michael is home. Maybe they’ll get their own place—a little apartment—and finally stop running from the ghosts chasing them. But things are never that easy, and life is far too fragile. Leonie has bent so much in her life—will this trip be the one that finally breaks her? Is Jojo ready to face the world, shoulders back and head held high, just like Pop taught him? Will the ancestors be kind and guide them both?

Character Summary

Joseph, or Jojo, is named for his paternal grandfather—Big Joseph. Although Jojo doesn’t know his father’s family, as they’ve never wanted anything to do with Leonie or her children, he is becoming a young man in his own right. Now thirteen, his world is opening up just a bit wider, and he’s discovering that Pop has given him all the tools he needs to navigate it. But something deeper has also awakened in Jojo—something he’s unsure he can talk about.

Leonie is the youngest daughter of Philomène and River—the one they probably prayed for every day. After the death of her brother, Leonie needed an escape, something to fill the void in her heart. When that escape allowed her to see her brother again, she searched the depths of the earth to see him again and again.

Philomène, or Mam, was a see-er. She could see the ancestors—those in a different realm, just on the other side of the door. River, or Pop, was a man of the land. With demons of his own from his time at Parchman, he carries his own gifts and wisdom rooted in the soil.

My Thoughts

This book is masterfully written. Have I said that before? Probably. But this one—OH MY GOSH. The words are written like prose… the whole book feels like a soft poem. It’s outstanding.

With a name like River, I’d have to imagine these Black characters have ties to the Choctaw people of Mississippi. If not direct, then certainly somewhere in their lineage. Not that only Native Americans possess spiritual gifts—African traditions, like Hoodoo, share those same roots: connection to land, spirit, and the ancestral realm.

It’s also not lost on me that Philomène is the name of a Catholic saint and martyr. Fitting, since she also serves as the matriarch and emotional martyr of this family. I won’t elaborate—read the book.

The chapters are hefty, both in depth and in meaning. These are thick chapters. Each one is narrated by either Jojo or Leonie, with a few haunting chapters from Richie. I won’t spoil Richie, but know that his voice is needed. He is needed. He’s the thread that carries Jojo and Kayla across—the one who lifts the veil, so to speak.

Every time I got to a Leonie chapter, I wanted to throw my iPad across the room. That young woman was awful, and I reserved no grace for her. I’m sure there’s a character I’ve hated more, but she’s top five. With every page, I wanted her to do better, to be better… and every time, I was disappointed.

And don’t get me started on Misty. I could write a dissertation on how much I abhorred her.

Michael… I didn’t expect much from him, honestly. I didn’t expect him to move the needle for me in any way. Men like him are meant to fade into the background—ornamental, not functional (word to Fitzgerald Grant III).

Final Verdict

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will absolutely add more from Jesmyn Ward to my TBR.